Game Night
by Dragoness of the Moon
Summary: AU where Ruby grew up just a little more in the grey area of following the law. Ruby's been hanging out at Junior's club way more than Roman realized... actually there seems to be a lot that he has missed over the years. Junior might have helped raise half of Vale at this point but he's just getting too old for this! Young Roman and Adam! This is a Rosewick fic! Rated M to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm back with a new Rosewick fic! This is completely AU so if you are looking for canon stories you are in the wrong place. In this story Ruby grew up just a little more aware of how things worked on the other side of the law. Qrow thinks his pranks are funnier than they really are and Junior acts as a father figure to more people than Roman ever realized when he is finally invited to game night. Roman slowly begins to realize that there is more to Little Red than just being a goody two shoes huntress and maybe she's not the only one? **

**Staring BakedAlaska! Rosewick! (duh) Nice Adam Taurus! A Really confused Roman Torchwick! And of course Drunk Uncle Qrow!**

* * *

"Just relax, they ain't gonna hurt you." Junior tried to sound reassuring but guessed he failed when Roman's grip on his cane only tightened.

"Why am I here Junior?" Roman demanded making Junior role his eyes.

"This," Junior stretched his arms out to indicate everyone in the room, "Is game night, specifically poker, tonight. I-"

"What? I've never seen any of these people at poker night before!" Roman interrupted earning himself a hard glare from Junior.

"That's because you've only ever been to my public poker nights, any and every idiot is allowed at those games, that's how I make easy money! But this, this is where the real magic happens. A couple times a month, titles are dropped, positions don't matter and no one gives a shit about how powerful or strong you think you are. It's a game of old friends shooting the breeze, drinking way too much booze and of course, playing poker. Well mostly poker, sometimes we mix it up. But I figure you're old enough now to join the better games."

The raven haired man next to Junior scoffed and Junior already knew he was going to regret asking, but he did anyway.

"Got something to say Branwen?" the man smirked downing the shot glass in front of him.

"Old enough? The first time you let my niece in here she was six years old! His age wasn't your concern, his boss was."

Roman was just about to ask just who this man thought he was when Junior nodded his head in agreement.

"True, I don't trust Cinder as far as I can throw her but Roman has quickly figured out that he made a mistake trusting the bitch, he made his bed and he can sleep in it until he figures out how to untangle himself from the sheets…. Besides you dragged your niece in here when she was six because you didn't know where else to take her!" Junior said finally taking his seat and gesturing for Roman to take one as well.

Roman eyed the room skeptically assuming that not everyone in this room was a 'friend'. Sighing he finally took the seat between Junior and this 'Branwen' guy that seemed a few too many shots in.

Glancing around at the other occupants of the room Roman realized he didn't really know any of them except Junior, he wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

Beside the raven haired 'Branwen' was a man with green hair and glasses who seemed to be switching between whiskey and coffee with every sip he took. Beside the green haired man was a woman with dark skin and a gold dress, she looked almost bored being there. Beside her was another woman, this woman was some form of Faunus if the purple scales on her face were anything to go by, she sat on the other side of Junior.

"Shall we start with introductions while you deal out the cards Hei?" the green haired man asked.

"Go ahead Barth."

Practically flying out of his chair 'Barth' stood at attention almost startling Roman out of his own chair as well.

"Very well then, I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, you have my permission to call me Barth while at these little games. I am a Doctor in Grimm history and Grimm studies." Roman gave a little nod and the green- Barth, continued, "The man beside me is Qrow Branwen, hunter, informant, spy, assassin, drunk, you name it he has probably done it." Qrow grunted.

"Just call me Qrow." Qrow said before downing another shot.

"This lovely creature to my right is Work'Nesh, you are an assassin if memory serves me my dear?" The woman in gold flashed Barth a wicked grin.

"It is but one of my many talents Doctor," looking over at Roman she smirked, "You can call me 'Nesh."

"Thank you Work'Nesh. The woman beside her, Lady Lavender, is an unrivaled chameleon, in more ways than one I might add." Lavender only gave him a small nod before continuing to watch Junior deal their cards.

"And since Hei is the man who brought you to this meeting I assume he needs no introduction." Barth instantly sat back down and Roman briefly wondered if the whiskey the man was drinking had espresso in it.

Junior elbowed Roman in the side ducking his head signalling that he needed to introduce himself.

"Er, I'm Roman Torchwick, just your friendly neighborhood thief."

Qrow scoffed but didn't comment as he looked down at his cards. Trying to be the bigger man Roman remained silent and quickly picked up his cards as well.  
The game went on in relative silence for about 20 minutes before Lavender finally spoke up.

"Speaking of your niece Qrow, where is she? She hasn't missed a game in ages." Qrow laughed.

"She sends her regards but decided she was going to try and convince her friends to play DnD with her tonight. She wanted them to play last night so she wouldn't miss poker but one of her new roommates made everyone go shopping instead. I think she just about stroked when she was forced to tag along." Qrow chuckled imagining his little niece being forced into fancy dresses by the Schnee.

"Well I for one am relieved that the Rose can't make it tonight, I just might be able to hold onto my money for once!" Junior grumbled in an almost bitter tone. He loved having the girl over, she was after all like a daughter to him, she always brought a brightness to the room that was sorely needed in their line of work, but damn if she didn't wipe the floor with them everytime she played.

Roman snickered.

"A woman after my own heart, huh?" Roman said offhandedly, smiling as he stared at his cards, completely oblivious to the stares the rest of the room was giving him.

Qrow growled next to him forcing him to look up as everyone stared like he had just grown another head.

"What? I like DnD!" Roman exclaimed as he glanced around the room confused.

Roman wasn't sure who, he assumed it was Qrow, but someone coughed out a 'nerd'.

"You do know who his niece is... don't you?" 'Nesh asked skeptically.

"No, I don't know who any of you are, why should I know his niece?" Junior laughed.

"Well she-"

"No, Hei wait." Qrow said quickly interrupting the man. He looked Roman in the eyes trying to gauge whether he was lying or not. When Qrow saw no hint of deceit he gave Roman a wicked grin.

"How old are you kid?" Qrow asked.

"Twent-" Junior thumped his leg from under the table.

"Tell the truth." Roman gave Junior a confused look, Junior only nodded his head making Roman sigh,

"Nineteen." Qrow threw his head back laughing.

"Close enough. Tell ya what kid, I'l-"

"I'm not a kid!" Roman tried to argue but was only greeted with snickers from the entire room.

"As I was saying," the smirk firmly planted on Qrow's lips, "When you finally get to meet my niece when she shows up to one of these games again, I'll let you decide if she's your type or not, dust, depending on how much of a laugh I get out of it I might even let you ask her out without getting shot! By me at least..." Everyone in the room gasped in shock.

"Qrow-"

"Oh, come on! Can you imagine the look on his face?" Qrow snickered as he downed yet another shot almost choking with laughter at the idea.

"Can you imagine the look on hers?" Junior asked trying to gauge just how drunk the bird brain was before they had even started. Qrow almost tipped out of his chair as he barked out a full bellied laugh, tears were actually forming in his eyes.

"Exactly! It'll be great, one of us will have to take pictures so I can show Tai!"

Small smirks showed up on every face in the room except Roman's. Leaning back to whisper in Junior's ear Roman asked, "What exactly just happened?"

Junior shook his head, "Don't worry about it."


	2. Chapter 2 Ruby Accepts

"So who's this new guy that's supposed to be joining game night?" Ruby asked as she and Qrow made their way up the stairs towards Junior's private game room.

"Oh, I think you'll get a real surprise out of this one kiddo, and let's just leave it at that for now ok?" Qrow said with a kind smile making Ruby even more suspicious.

"Fine." Ruby said rolling her eyes as she opened the door to greet everyone else who was already seated. "Hi everybody! I brought cookies!" There was a small round of 'Hi Ruby' and 'Yay!' as Qrow and Ruby settled into their seats. Looking around the room Ruby realized that Dr. Oobleck was missing but there were no new faces at the table.

"What happened to this new guy I was supposed to meet?"

Junior whipped out his scroll and quickly fired off a text to the man in question.

"To meet? Is that all Qrow told you?" Work'Nesh asked with an evil grin on her face as Qrow paled.

"'Nesh…"

"What didn't Qrow tell me?" If possible 'Nesh's smile became even more wicked.

"Due to some off the cuff comment about you being 'a woman after his own heart' Qrow made a wager with the young man that when he finally met you he had Qrow's permission to ask you out and not get shot, by Qrow at the very least."

Ruby's eyes hardened like steel as she glared at her favorite Uncle.

"You did what?!"

"Ruuuby… Relax, once you see him, I promise you will shoot before he even has a chance to ask!" Qrow tried to defend himself putting his hands up in front of his chest as he scooted away from his niece.

Ruby was just about to argue when Junior's scroll beeped. Junior read the message and frowned.

"Problem?" Qrow asked trying to break the tension in the air from his niece who was silently seething beside him.

"Maybe? I asked him if he was gonna make it to the game and his response doesn't make any sense."

"Well what'd he say?" Qrow asked

"'**Can't. Little Red cracked the barrel of Melodic with her weed whacker last night and I am trying to fix it**' Then he said '**Do you think duct tape will hold it?**' He can't seriously think duct tape is strong enough to hold together the barrel of a gun...can he?" Junior asked no one in particular as he stared at his scroll wondering how to respond.

'Nesh and Lavender seemed to be the only ones to notice Ruby's face go bright red in anger as she clenched her fists on the table. The two women shared a look of concern before slowly crawling under said table.

"YOU TOLD ROMAN TORCHWICK HE COULD ASK ME OUT?! HOW DRUNK WERE YOU?!" Junior and Qrow both jumped out of their seats and stared at the little Rose as she glared at them, surprised that she had already figured it out. Her hair was whipping around her face even though there was no breeze and her eyes seemed to glow with silver rage.

"Ruby… Calm down! It's just a joke! I mean-"

"Ya! Qrow's just trying to prank Roman anyway. Roman doesn't even realize you're Qrow's niece!" Suddenly the imaginary wind disappeared and Ruby's eyes seemed to mostly go back to normal, even though she was still incredibly pissed off.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that Torchwick has no idea who I am?" Both men nodded their heads, "He has no idea that 'Little Red', Ruby Rose and 'Qrow's niece' are all the same person?" Again they nodded their heads in sink with one another, both silently wondering what the girl was getting at. Junior couldn't tell if Ruby looked shocked or scared.

"Just how stupid is he?! I practically live here and he's never noticed!?" Ruby asked making the two ladies who had been hiding under the table snicker.

Ignoring the two men she had scared into the corner Ruby turned and went back to her seat at the poker table. She quickly dug into one of the many bags of cookies she had brought along for game night, willing her rage to go away with every sweet bite she took.

"To be fair Ruby, he didn't know any of us either, except Junior. Last week I asked where you were and Qrow told us you were trying to get a DnD game going with your friends. Like 'Nesh said, Roman made some off the cuff comment about you being a woman after his own heart and that's how Qrow got his _brilliant _plan, because Roman had no idea we were talking about you." Lavender said as she too retook her seat, 'Nesh crawled out from under the table as well.

"It _is_ kinda funny when you think about it little Rose. Maybe you two have more in common than you think? If anything it will totally be worth the look on his face when he figures it all out!" 'Nesh laughed as Ruby passed her and Lavender their own bags of cookies that she had specially made for them.

"This is dumb and you know it!" Ruby shouted pointing a finger at Qrow who had been quietly trying to get back to the table.

"Yes but it'll be funny… Tell ya what, I'll buy you whatever you want so you can start that update you were telling me about on Crescent Rose, ok?" Qrow bargained hoping his niece's beloved scythe would be enough to win her over for his little game.

"3000 grams of Vacouvian steel." Qrow blinked.

"What?"

"3000 grams of Vacouvian steel. That's what I want for playing along with this little stunt of yours. Junior, hand me your scroll."

"Ruby that's a lot of steel!"

"Why?" Junior asked as he passed her his scroll anyway. Ruby quickly typed something before handing the scroll back to Junior.

"That's my price, take it or leave it Uncle Qrow." Ruby said not even looking at her Uncle as she glanced at her cards for the first time, everyone else doing the same. Qrow looked at his hand and sighed.

"Fine."

Junior's scroll beeped again and Junior stared at the message in shock.

"Are you sure you wanna do that Ruby?"

"Ya, just tell him to have it here before we leave tonight and I'll bring it back sometime tomorrow."

"Ok…" Junior sighed not even trying to understand where Ruby's mind was and knowing he didn't want to know in the long run.

"What are you doing?" Qrow asked, curious about what she was up to. Ruby's eyes hardened as she glared at her Uncle again.

"3000 grams of Vacouvian steel, that's all you need to know." Qrow flinched and the game continued on in relative silence for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3 Sugar Cookies

"I gotta say Junior, whatever you did to fix my cane not only fixed it but made it ten times better! It's almost like new! Seriously how much do I owe you?" 'Nesh and Lavender laughed as Junior groaned, putting his hand down and glaring at the ceiling.  
Barth looked over at Qrow for answers but Qrow could only shrug not knowing any more than he did.

"Junior can't even do repairs on his own weapon, you think he knows how to fix yours?" 'Nesh asked sarcastically, enjoying the embarrassed look on Junior's face.

"Well if you didn't fix it who did?"

"Qrow's niece." 'Nesh said looking at Qrow as he choked on his latest shot.

"She did what?! Is that why I had to get her 3000 grams of Vacouvian steel?!" 'Nesh, Barth and Lavender all scoffed.

"Please Qrow, use your head. If Miss Rose had used 3000 grams of Vacouvian steel on Mr. Torchwick's cane he wouldn't be able to fire it. Hand me your cane." Barth demanded, outstretching his hand over the table waiting for Roman to comply.

Roman eyed the offered hand wearily for a moment before handing over his cane. Barth shot up and aimed the barrel at the wall, peering through the sight that automatically popped up. Sliding his hand along the length of the cane his fingers twitching every few inches as if he were discovering something new.

"Ah yes she did a very nice job indeed," Barth tested the balance as well as he flipped it over as if to use the grappling hook, "Miss Rose reinforced it with Vacouvian steel, I'd say she used no more than 10 grams and it seems to be only on the outer shell," Barth flipped the cane back towards Roman and offered it out for him to take back, "She always has been a bit of a weapons fanatic, isn't that right Qrow?" Barth asked reclaiming his seat.

Qrow grunted, "Just like her mother." Qrow mumbled as he downed three shots really quickly, the women in the room eyed him with sympathy.

"Speaking of your niece, where is she? Aren't I supposed to be super surprised when I meet her?" Roman asked starting to get slightly nervous about meeting this woman, especially if she was fixing his weapon.

"Oh right," Qrow mumbled as he leaned down towards the bag he had brought with him pulling out several smaller bags of cookies, "She left a note in here somewhere," Qrow dug through the bag until he found a little slip of paper. Qrow cleared his throat before speaking,

"_Screw You Barth I know you gave my team extra homework because you were afraid of losing your ass tonight!_" Qrow shouted trying to imitate Ruby's voice and failing miserably.

"Dammit! She knows I don't get paid until the end of the month! Does she not understand how hard it is to live off a teachers salary?!" Barth demanded as he slammed his hands on the table making Qrow laugh.

"Anyway, she also made everyone cookies," Qrow quickly passed out the cookies that were in color coordinated bags, saving the orange bag for last Qrow looked back down at the piece of paper before handing them to Roman, "_I don't know the carrot sticks favorite cookie so I made him one of everything, and no they aren't poisoned_."

Ignoring the fact that this woman was calling him 'Carrot Stick', Roman opened the bag skeptically and found a range of cookies that he didn't even recognize, looking around at the group he realized that he had one of each kind of cookie that they were eating.

"Um so what flavor is this?" Roman asked holding up a dark chocolate looking cookie with an even darker looking icing in the middle.

"Chocolate Espresso!" Barth cheered as shoved two of his own espresso cookies in his mouth.

Junior held up his pale cinnamon toasted cookie, "This one is Buttered Rum."

"Caramel Whiskey Chocolate Chip." Qrow said in a dreamy voice as he clutched his bag of cookies tighter.

"Butterscotch." 'Nesh said simply as she bit into one of hers.

"Snickerdoodle." Lavender nodded as she munched on hers as well.

Roman watched the group devour their cookies as if it were their last meal.

"So Roman, what's your favorite cookie so R-Rose can make you something you'll actually eat next time?" Qrow asked almost slipping up at his own game and saying Ruby's name. Thinking about it, Qrow wasn't even sure if Roman knew 'Red's' real name but he wasn't going to risk it. Qrow pulled out his scroll so he could send Ruby a quick text, Oum knows he wouldn't remember the answer in the morning if he didn't.

"Um, sugar cookies I guess?" Roman said not sounding so sure of himself as he looked at all the cookies in the bag and debated if Neo would eat any of them for him when she finally came back.

Qrow sent off a quick text and just as he was about to pocket his scroll it buzzed again. Qrow looked at it surprised that Ruby would respond and quickly choked on air as he read the response.

All heads turned to Qrow as he struggled to breath, Qrow stared at his scroll on the table as if it had just killed someone.

"It's gotta be her sister…she would never..." Qrow mumbled as he continued to stare at the scroll in horror. Curiosity getting the better of her Lavender reached across the table and took Qrow's scroll. Lavender's purple scales suddenly turned bright red and she quickly passed the scroll to 'Nesh who quirked an eyebrow at her friends blushing. 'Nesh's eyes went wide as she read the scroll, a pink tinge just barely tenting her dark skin. A smile split across her face as she burst out laughing.

Junior, Barth and Roman stared at the other three confused as they waited for someone to say something.

'Nesh was the only one to recover as she finally tried to catch her breath.

"So- so Qrow said, 'The carrot stick wants sugar cookies' and - oh Oum this is great- and her reply was- hahaha, 'Is he going to be that vanilla when I get him in bed too?'!" 'Nesh could barely breath as she burst out laughing again.

Roman blushed a violent shade of red while Junior choked on the air he was breathing in laughter. Barth wasn't doing much better than Qrow though as he looked a little green.

Tossing the scroll back to Qrow 'Nesh laughed, "It's gotta be Yang. There's no way little Rose said that." 'Nesh said drying her eyes from the tears of laughter.

Not a second after Qrow caught his scroll it started to ring, terrified but needing answers Qrow answered it.

"_I am so sorry Uncle Qrow!" _Everyone in the room could just barely hear Ruby as she spoke, they all not so subtly leaned in to hear more, "_Yang stole my scroll, I hadn't even realized you'd messaged me until she started laughing maniacally"_

"Good to hear kiddo, I think my heart stopped when I read that message." Qrow said trying to sound as if he hadn't seen his life flash before his eyes. They all suddenly heard a scuffle in the background and then shouting.

"_Oh come on sis it was all in good fun!" _

"_And when you wake up with a shaved head I'll remind you all about good fun!" _They all heard a door slam as Ruby sighed, "_So who's winning?" _Qrow grunted.

"No one yet, we were too busy laughing and or dying at your message."

"_You showed everyone?!" _Ruby cried sounding even more embarrassed than Roman looked.

"No, 'Nesh read it out loud."

"'_Nesh!"_

"Sorry little Rose!" 'Nesh shouted towards the scroll, "Don't worry, Roman looks as embarrassed as you feel." 'Nesh laughed as Ruby whined and Roman turned an even darker shade of red.

"_I'm gonna go kill my sister, then die of embarrassment. See you all next week, unless someone tries to double my homework load again!"_

Barth actually blushed, "Sorry Miss Rose!" Barth called out.

"_Oh no worries...How are those espresso cookies?" _Ruby asked in a deceptively sweet tone. Barth was just about to thank her for them when the entire room heard his stomach growl. They all blinked and Barth dashed out of the room.

"Uh, I thought your note said you didn't poison the cookies?" Qrow asked as he looked at the door Barth had just ran through, a hint of fear creeping up his spine.

"_No, I said I didn't poison Torchwick's cookies. Never said anything about Barth's. It's just a mild laxative anyway." _Ruby cackled in the background and Roman couldn't help but laugh.

"I like her." Roman laughed and the entire room went silent, even on Ruby's end.

Suddenly they could all hear Ruby laughing hysterically on the other end of the scroll.

"_We'll see how you feel when you final figure out who I am Torchwick! Have a good game everyone!" _The line went dead and everyone turned back to their cards as they waited for Barth to return.


	4. Chapter 4 The Game

"Oh Oum! It's like the world's longest game of scroll tag with you two!" Junior shouted as he walked into the room to find Ruby present but Roman once again was missing.

"It's not my fault this time! I haven't stopped one of his raids since last week!" Ruby wasn't sure why but she couldn't help but get excited everytime she came to poker night now, wondering how Roman would respond when he finally walked in the door and found her sitting there… totally about to kick his butt at cards.

That was it, right? She wasn't actually excited at the idea of seeing him… was she?

Ruby wasn't so sure anymore, after chasing down Yang, not that Yang ever stood a chance of escaping, part of her semblance is speed for Oum's sake! But anyway, Ruby explained to her sister just who she was making cookies for and Yang just about stroked in the middle of Emerald Forest.

The two sisters would fight off Grimm and talk to each other about all the things they weren't ready to talk about in front of anyone else. What happened in Emerald Forest, stayed in Emerald Forest.

For a brief second Yang's eyes had flashed red and Ruby was positive her sister was going to lock her up and ban her from ever returning to game night, but to the shock of both ladies Yang simply turned around and blew the head off of an encroaching Ursa. They fought off Grimm for several minutes and when Yang finally turned to face her again she was all smiles.

That grin would come to haunt Ruby as her sister realized just whose weapon she had been 'fiddling' with the week prior. Yang started to make some lewd joke about using his cane for certain… purposes and Ruby just about exploded in a pile of rose petals. Hiding her face in her cloak from embarrassment, trying to get _that_ image out of her mind. Ruby was 97% sure she'd never be able to look at his cane again without picturing..._that…_

"Ruby? Remnant to Ruby?"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked coming out of her thoughts. Glancing around she realized everyone was there, except Roman, and they were staring at her.

"Sorry, just thinking about something Yang said."

"That's never good." Junior grumbled, still upset about the embodiment of a Phoenix trashing his club.

"Ya… So what's Roman's excuse this time?" Ruby asked as she tried to focus on the hand she had been dealt.

"I don't know, he said something about Cinder being a bitch, so he's probably just stuck at work."

"Blast! I was hoping today would finally be the day!" 'Nesh appeared to be pouting.

"Why? Are you ready for this game to end too?" Ruby asked, 'Nesh gave her a curious look.

"Don't lie Little Rose. You are enjoying this game just as much, if not more, than the rest of us. I can see that there is a part of you that is truly curious to see how Roman will respond." Ruby's cheeks turned pink and 'Nesh smiled wider, "I had hoped to also witness this interesting encounter but alas, I have an assignment next week."

"Oooh… so who are we killing?" Ruby asked.

"Actually it's more of a stealth mission this time. The infamous Sienna Khan, the current leader of the White Fang, was spotted in Minstrel. It's not so much a search and destroy, more… search and rough her up a little. She has information my employer wants." 'Nesh hummed and shrugged her shoulders not really caring who her target was.

"Sounds fun. I probably won't make it next week either though so I doubt you'll miss anything."

"Where are you gonna be?" Lavender asked.

"Oh, you know, hunting criminals and stuff…"

* * *

"Little Red, Little Red, you're out a bit late aren't you?" Roman taunted as he blocked Ruby's scythe with his cane.

"Why, somewhere important to be Torchwick?" Ruby asked as she jumped back to avoid getting smacked with Melodic.

No matter who she was fighting Ruby always loved the rush of battle, but with Torchwick there was always an electric tang on the tip of her tongue. Maybe it was all the snarky comments and the witty comebacks but even before Qrow's stupid little game, Ruby always got an extra thrill when fighting the thief.

Yang, as a fellow adrenaline junkie, always joked that fighting was how Ruby got rid of her sexual energy. Where Yang was happy to bang anything that caught her eye, especially a certain little ice cream girl, Ruby was more into weapons than people, thus got turned on by the thrill of a fight.

Ruby tried not to think about it as she felt the adrenaline coarse threw her as Roman continued firing dust rounds at her.

"Not particularly, but I did have a game to get to tonight Red." Roman said around the cigar between his lips. Ruby smiled hoping she could tease him a little.

"Like a baseball game?" she said in a little too high pitched tone. Roman's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Sports aren't really my thing Red." Roman said, swinging Melodic like a bat slamming Ruby in the ribs. Her aura absorbed most of the hit but she knew she'd be sporting a bruise later. Jumping out of the way of another swing Ruby fired a round at the ground propeling herself into the air. Transforming Crescent Rose into scythe mode mid air, Ruby brought her scythe down for a swing of her own slamming Torchwick in the back with the blunt end of her blade.

Roman tumbled across the ground groaning from the hit.

"Ruby! Hurry up! Let's go!" Yang shouted in the distance just as Ruby started walking towards Roman who was trying to get up on his knees.

A tiny smirk played at Ruby's lips as she quickly dashed up behind him. Before she could second guess herself, Ruby stole the bowler hat right off his head.

"See you later Torchwick." Ruby whispered in his ear as she quickly disappeared to find the rest of her team.


	5. Chapter 5 Peas or Carrots?

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Tomorrow is my first day off in six weeks! Having two jobs sucks. I hope to write some more but we'll see! Until then, the next chapter, Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"So, you gonna tell me why you're wearing Roman's hat?" Junior asked as he looked at Ruby with a mixture of pride, curiosity and suspicion. Ruby grinned.

"I stole it right off his head! It was awesome!" Lavender gave Ruby a doubtful look.

"Is that why you are wearing a bag of frozen peas on your ribs?" Lavender asked and Ruby's smug smile disappeared.

"No...I was distracted and Roman nailed me with a forward swing." Ruby grimaced as she lifted her blouse, her corset long since having been removed, just enough to show them the cane shaped bruise that was already forming under her breast.

Junior winced, "If that's what he did to you I can't wait to see what you did to him."

"I know! I wonder where he is? He said he was coming to the game tonight." Ruby said as she grabbed another card. Junior pulled out his scroll.

"If I know Roman, he's at home moping over his bruised side and fractured ego, he probably won't make it now." Ruby stuck out her lower lip pouting.

"Aw, but I wanted to taunt him some more!"

Junior's scroll pinged and he laughed at the message, "He says **'****Red stole my hat! I'm not in the mood'**, Oum he's such a baby." Junior laughed as he went to put his scroll away.

"Wait! Let me see your scroll!" Ruby shouted already reaching across the table and taking it before Junior could object.

Adjusting the hat on her head Ruby smiled as she took a selfie with Junior's scroll, she quickly typed a message before handing it back to Junior. The response was instantaneous as Junior's scroll started ringing before Ruby had even let go of it.

"I'm not gonna answer it. He'll be here in like two minutes now anyway… You realize Qrow's gonna be pretty pissed that he missed this, right?"

"You're assuming he's gonna figure it out tonight. He's gonna be more angry than observant."

"He's not that stupid Ruby." Junior tried to defend Roman and instantly regretted it.

"One thousand lien, I'll bet you right now. It's just you, me and Lavender, no one gives any hints or clues. One thousand lien that he doesn't figure out who I am tonight and the game keeps going, deal?" Junior gave Ruby a wary glance,

"Deal."

"Awesome! I'm gonna go grab another bag of frozen peas, this one is starting to melt." Ruby disappeared in a flash of petals and Junior gave Lavender a regretful look.

"I'm gonna regret that aren't I?" Lavender only laughed.

Not even a minute later Roman Torchwick barged in huffing and puffing with Melodic Cudgel drawn in front of him. Junior didn't even let him speak before slamming his fist down over Melodic sending it across the room and quickly hoisting Roman up by the collar of his shirt.

"You don't ever draw a weapon in this room! Got that? I told you the night I let you up here, this game is a neutral zone. No one cares who you are or who you work for. So you will behave or you will leave, deal?" Junior shouted as he held Roman a good inch off the ground with one arm. Roman nodded his head unable to speak. Junior dropped him and went back to his seat.

"But she's a huntress how can you trust her?!" Junior didn't have to answer as Ruby re-appeared scoffing. Roman whipped his head around to glare at her as she stood in the doorway with a bag of frozen peas in one hand and a bag of frozen carrots in the other, his hat still perched on her head.

"You do realize that Barth and Qrow are hunters too right? Heck, even Lavender pretends to be a huntress every once in a while."

"Red! I want my hat back!" Roman demanded completely ignoring what she said as he took a step closer to her intending to grab it.

"Play nice you two!" Junior growled making Roman freeze.

"Sure thing boss!" Ruby said in an all too cheery voice adjusting the hat on her head with a smirk.

Ruby tried not to laugh as Roman's eyes never left her as she walked back to her seat.

"If you're gonna undress me with your eyes you might as well take a seat." Junior choked trying and failing not to laugh as Lavender's scales turned red. Roman's jaw hit the floor and he stared at Ruby as if she had grown a second head.

"Wha- what did you just say?"

"Sit Torchwick. You said you had a game to get to tonight, well, you're finally here, let's play!" Ruby smiled her most sincere smile, Roman could only blink at her incredibly confused but took the seat closest to Junior and furthest from Ruby.

The game continued in awkward silence as Junior dealt Roman in and the game truly began. Junior kept shooting looks between Ruby and Roman, whether he was making sure they were behaving or looking for any signs of realization in Roman, Ruby wasn't sure but she found it funny either way. Roman's eyes never left Ruby, she couldn't tell if he was trying to puzzle her out or if he had simply short circuited.

"Oh Oum Torchwick, just ask!" Ruby said finally getting annoyed with the awkward stares.

"Huh? Ask what?"

"Whatever the heck it is that's running through your head! I can see the sparks flying from here!" Roman's dumbfounded look turned sour and Ruby was sure he growled at her.

"Fine, how in Remnant do you even know about this? How do you know Junior? What are you even doing here? Why'd you steal my hat!?"

Ruby's tongue peeked out over her lips, she tried to stop but soon she was shaking. Looking down and biting her lip she tried to breath but knew it was a losing battle. Finally she burst out into hysterical giggles almost falling out of her seat when she felt the shock of pain in her ribs.

"Ow, hehehe, ow, Oum that hurts. Hehehehehe." Ruby stopped giggling trying to get her breathing under control as she clutched her side and reached for the bag of frozen carrots, smiling nonetheless.

"Sorry. Torchwick do you want peas or carrots?"

Roman frowned not understanding the question, "What? Neither. Why? That's not what I-"

"Catch!" Ruby shouted rolling her eyes as she tossed the frozen bag of carrots at his face. Roman's arm instinctively went up, catching the bag and Ruby smirked when he winced, grabbing his shoulder in pain.

"That's why." Ruby nodded her head to him as she lifted her blouse, showing off the bruise he gave her before placing her bag of peas against it. Ruby practically moaned at the icy cold contact against her overly warm skin. Adjusting her blouse, Ruby smiled back up at him.

"But really, that's what you ask? Those are easy questions. First off, I've known Junior since I was like six years old. Him and my uncle are… begrudgingly good friends." Junior gave Ruby a look, hinting that she might be giving too much away but she ignored him. "So I've known about and been coming to poker nights for years. I'm here to play poker and hang out with friends, just like you… And I stole your hat because I could." Ruby smiled sticking her tongue out at the man.

"That's not a very good reason." Roman scoffed. Ruby's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"This coming from Vale's infamous dust thief?"

Roman had the decency to blush before quickly covering it up by glaring at Junior instead.

"You never told me _she_ was invited to these games."

Junior gave him an unimpressed stare, "You never asked. Lots of people are invited, many can't make it or choose not to."

"She could be selling information! She could-" Junior put his hand up to tell Roman to shut up but Ruby beat him to it.

"Torchwick, if I really wanted to I could have had you arrested ages ago. I could have gotten you arrested six times this week alone but I didn't."

"Six times? How's that Red?" Roman asked trying to sound smug.

"Well there were the two dust heists on the south side of town that are being blamed on the White Fang, there's the stolen Atlas paladin, the dust theft yesterday morning that the police still don't even know about and obviously the one that was two hours ago." Ruby smile grew wider and wider as she spoke as Romans eyes looked as though they would roll out of his head.

"Blake, my teammate, found out about tonight from a friend of hers in the White Fang so that's the one we walked in on. I also know about the three you have planned for next week." Ruby's smile became devious as she drew another card. "But don't worry, as of right now my team doesn't know about them, so you probably won't be seeing us."

The game continued for several rounds in complete silence, Roman finally looking away from Ruby and trying to concentrate on the game instead of the thousands of questions that were running through his mind.

Finally after a good half an hour of mostly relaxed silence Roman couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Ok Red, I gotta ask, you know about all the bad stuff going on in Vale and you do nothing? Doesn't that, I don't know, mess with your goody two shoes huntress code? What are you really doing here? What's your angle?"

Ruby sighed sounding almost defeated.

"I'm not a complete goody two shoes-" Junior laughed, "...all the time. And I wouldn't exactly say I'm ok with it, more like…. I've had a decade to get used to it. If Qr-er my uncle hadn't brought me here at such a young age I probably wouldn't be this calm about it but I've learned there's two sides to every story. I've been on the other side a couple of times too. I even pick up jobs from Junior every once in a while!"

Roman gave her a disbelieving look, "You're kidding me."

Junior groaned, "No. Ruby's done the odd job for me here and there. She was going to be one of my best informants but-"

"I can't lie to save my life!" Ruby cheered sounding almost proud of the fact. Roman looked back and forth between Junior and Ruby.

"Somehow I don't believe you."

"Ask her anything. It's actually kinda funny to watch." Lavender said finally joining the conversation.

"Lavender!" Ruby cried making Junior laugh. Roman got a devious look on his face, Ruby gulped.

"Okay then...Have you ever betrayed Junior?"

Ruby smiled relieved by the stupid question.

"Of course not! Junior practically raised me." Roman frowned not really impressed by the answer.

"No, see you're doing it wrong, you have to ask her something she'd actually have to lie about." Lavender interrupted.

"Like what?" Roman asked not really sure what Red would lie about to begin with, he didn't know her that well. Lavender put a hand to her chin thinking.

"Ooh, I know. Tell me little Ro-Red, what were you thinking about that had you so distracted that Roman managed to give you that bruise?"

Roman frowned but as Ruby's face instantly turned red he became suspicious.

"Er...can I say it's something Yang said and leave it at that?"

"Nope." Lavender said just as Junior groaned.

"Oum this is gonna be bad…" Junior started rubbing his temples.

"Um, well, I, uh," Ruby looked at Roman and blushed even harder, "I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie and well uh, it's fun fighting you!" Ruby pointed a finger at Roman as she kept rambling, "But Yang was giving me crap about getting off on fights and something about his cane and with all the taunting I couldn't help but think about it and then I was telling myself not to think about that and then I realized I wasn't paying attention and I got hit and-"

"Ruby! Breath!" Junior shouted.

Lavender was chuckling behind her hand while Junior had his head down, shaking with silent laughter. Roman on the other hand was staring at her in shocked silence.

Ruby stared at her cards, silently begging anyone to change the subject as she sunk lower into her seat.

"Wow, you really can't lie." Roman finally said sounding surprised, Ruby only shook her head, afraid to speak, "So what jobs have you done for Junior?" Ruby's head jerked up, there was an unexpected glee in her eyes.

Looking at Junior Ruby raised her brows, "Can I tell him?"

Junior shrugged, "Go for it." Ruby grinned.

"Awesome! Remember earlier in the year when you came to Junior looking for information on your boss?" Roman nodded his head suspiciously, "Well remember how Junior didn't know anything about Cinder, he told you to wait a few days and he'd get back to you?" Again Roman nodded his head, "That file he gave you? The one that was like two inches thick? I put that together."

Roman choked on air, "What!? You put that together?"

"Yep. Three days of me running all over Vale, blowing favors, sneaking in and out of bars and you didn't even read the whole thing!"

"Yes I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Alright you two, calm down! Roman don't lie, Ruby shut up before you say too much."

"Yes sir." Ruby and Roman said simultaneously making Ruby smile and Roman frown.

Junior rolled his eyes at the two as he decided to go all in. Lavender whined.

"I fold." Lavender said dropping her cards, she only had one pair.

Junior smiled, "Ha! Full house!" Junior shouted as he reached for the pot.

"Na-ahah, sorry Junior, straight flush." Roman said practically shoving his cards in Junior's face. "Tell ya what Red, I'll let you keep all the money if you give me my hat back." Roman offered, putting his hand out expecting her to give it back.

Ruby gave him a smug smile, her brow raised, "Tell ya what Torchwick, I'll keep the money and your hat."

Roman's head whipped around to glare at her and his eyes met her revealed hand with a gasp,

"In your honor, a royal flush." Ruby smiled tipping his hat up, "Maybe you can win it back next week?"

Roman huffed, "Who said I was coming back Red?" Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise, Ruby looked almost ready to cry.

"Really Roman? All because of Ruby? What's it gonna take for you to trust her?" Junior asked sounding incredibly disappointed in him.

"Nothing! There's no one in this room that can make me trust her enough to take that risk!"

Junior looked about ready to scream.

"You said no one in this room." Ruby whispered.

"Huh?"

"You said no one in this room. So who outside of this room would you trust?"

"No one you'd know." Roman huffed shoving a cigar in his mouth.

Ruby smiled, looking just a little bit hopeful.

"Give me one chance. Let me make one phone call, just one, to prove that you can trust me...At least enough to keep coming to game night. Please? Please? Please?" Ruby knew she was begging, practically groveling, but for some strange reason she wanted to prove herself to Torchwick. Flicking his lighter Roman rolled his eyes.

"Fine, try me but I doubt I'll be swayed." Roman said refusing to look at anyone else but her in the room. He watched as Ruby quickly fired off a text smiling at her scroll just waiting for the person to call her.

Roman was just about to tell her to hurry up and make her useless call when her scroll started blaring some techno-metal sounding music.

_Pretty little, pretty little, pretty little psycho! Pretty little, Pretty little, pretty little psycho! Black lipstick just like a cat. Have you purring on your back. Tip the glass now light it up. Rebel, rebel, can't get enough. You're looking crazy. You're looking wrong. We look like we belong. -_

"Are you gonna answer that Red?" Roman asked sounding annoyed by the music but was truly curious to see who she had assigned that particular ringtone to.

Rolling her eyes Ruby answered the call, pushing the button to accept the video call.

"Hey ice cream!"

"Hey cookies!" Roman's cigar fell to the table as his jaw dropped open in shock. "So why'd you want me to call? In need of some Neapolitan lovin'?" Ruby's face went bright red.

"Neo!" Ruby cried as the entire room heard Neo's musical laugh through the scroll. "I love you Neo, but your dating my sister! Shouldn't you be asking her that?"

"Don't worry I will! It's game night right?" Ruby nodded her head, "Then don't go back to your dorm right away...unless you want to walk in on-"

"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!" Ruby screamed making Neo and Junior laugh. Neo's eyes perked up as she heard Junior in the background.

"Hey Junior!"

"Hey Neo." Junior replied fondly as he shook his head still smiling. Neo looked at Ruby again with a curious smirk on her face.

"So what's up my cookie? And...why are you wearing Roman's hat?"

Ruby frowned, looking over her scroll at Roman who was still completely gobsmacked staring at her. Stopping herself from smirking Ruby looked back at her screen, allowing fake tears to fill her eyes.

"Well, I totally kicked his butt at his heist tonight, so I stole it! But Junior finally let Roman join game night but he doesn't want to come back because he doesn't like me!" Ruby said in a rush practically crying. Neo's eyes went wide, she could instantly tell that Ruby was faking but was still peeved that her partner in crime and brother in everything but blood was being such a jerk to one of her besties.

"Ugh, he's such a dum dum." Neo said rolling her eyes fondly.

"Hey!" Roman shouted finally snapping out of it and glaring at the back of Ruby's scroll as if Neo could see him.

"Ruby, turn your scroll around please." Neo asked but it sounded more like a command. Ruby obliged, turning her scroll and holding the screen out so Roman could see Neo glaring at him.

"Neo! How do you know Red? How-"

"She practically lives at the club and then there's game night you dum dum! But that's not important. You leave my cinnamon roll alone!" Neo shouted pointing a finger at Roman. Even though she was only an image on a scroll Roman instinctively flinched back.

"But-But, she's a huntress!"

"So's her sister! So's Qrow and Barth! Hell loads of hunters and huntresses hang out at Junior's club! Let alone show up for game night!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Neo's angry face suddenly turned soft, "Besides, if you give her a chance I think you'd come to like Ruby. She makes the best cookies! You should-"

"I think I'm supposed to wait on cookies actually." Roman interrupted with a weird frown on his face. Neo's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Why?"

"I don't know, some girl, 'the rose'? Is making cookies too. How many people make cookies for game night? How do you all not have diabetes?" Roman asked no one in particular as Neo blinked at him like he had just said something incredibly stupid.

"You know you're a total idiot right? You really don't know-" Junior interrupted leaning in front of Roman to look at Neo on the scroll making sure Roman couldn't see.

"Nope." Junior sighed sadly already counting in his head how much money he had lost tonight, "Qrow made a deal with Roman on his first day that since he didn't know who his niece was, Roman was allowed to ask her out when he finally figures it out and Qrow wont shoot him for it."

"Oh my gosh! How drunk was he!?" Neo said as she laughed hysterically, barely able to hold her scroll up.

"That's what I said!" Ruby shouted but kept the scroll facing Roman and Junior.

"Oh Oum this is great! Are there bets going on this? Can I get in on them?!"

Junior shook his head, "Yea, I'll message you later. I already lost a thousand lien on it so I might as well keep going right?"

"Oh Oum this is going to be awesome! Ruby! Ruby! Turn me back and take me off speaker!" Neo shouted overly excited. Ruby did as she was told and put the scroll up to her ear so no one else could hear.

"You're off speaker."

"You knew about this deal?!"

"Not at first, I found out the week after."

"And you're ok with it?" Neo asked sounding incredibly surprised but somewhat gleeful.

"I mean, I guess so. It's not like there's a gun pointed at my head. Technically Torchwick doesn't have to ask 'the rose' anything, he just won't get shot for it. And- _she_ doesn't have to accept either."

"Oh my gosh you're actually excited for this aren't you!?" Ruby blushed a little.

"Um.."

"No worries," Neo laughed, "But we are totally talking later! If I'm not back by next girls night you're totally skyping me in!" Ruby smiled at the idea.

"When are you coming back?"

"Ugh, as soon as I'm done with this stupid assignment from Cinder."

"Aww! Well hurry up and steal the stupid Atlas tech so you can come home! I miss you!" Roman was staring at Ruby again as if she were absolutely insane.

"I miss you too! See you soon."

"Bye ice cream cone!"

"Bye cookies and cream!" Both girls finally hung up their scrolls. Ruby smiled at her scroll for a second before finally looking at Roman.

"Now can you trust me?"

Roman nodded his head slowly, confused and shocked by the entire conversation they had all just been a part of.

Suddenly the room had become awkwardly quiet, Junior glanced at his watch realizing that it was barely nine o'clock. He leaned over to tell Lavender and quickly realized that sometime during the phone call she had disappeared. Junior shook his head smiling, _sneaky chameleon. _He looked at the huntress and the thief before him.

Roman looked somewhere between comatose and having a heart attack while Ruby just looked happy… and maybe a little smug.

Quietly getting out of his chair he left the two alone, Ruby winked at him, Junior hoped that was the signal that they would behave themselves but he wouldn't place any bets on that.

Shuffling the deck of cards quietly Ruby waited to see if Torchwick would ask any questions, as she prepared herself for a game of solitaire.

"What are you doing?" Roman finally asked watching her layout the cards.

"Meh, figured I'd play solitaire until it's safe to go home."

"Why wouldn't it be safe?" Ruby finally looked up at him quirking her eyebrow.

"You heard what Neo said. No way do I want to walk in on her and my sister doing it over the phone." Ruby shivered and Roman suddenly looked a little green, "Do you wanna stay for another round?" Ruby asked expecting him to say no as she kept laying out her cards.

He opened his mouth to say no but quickly snapped his mouth shut. He didn't want to piss off Junior, the man practically raised him, he might as well try to get along with the reaper… in this room at least… maybe… he wasn't sure how he felt about this just yet. But if Neo trusted her… well at least he wouldn't get killed right away.

"Sure, why not? Gotta win my hat back somehow." Ruby nearly burst into petals from excitement almost squealing in glee. Ruby grinned.

"Good luck."


	6. Chapter 6 Friends in Low Places

**So much for having a day off... I ended up having to work on my one day off anyway and I was so drained by the end of it that I totally forgot about updating. _Hopefully_ I'll be able to update at least once more this weekend since my husband and I will be in Iowa ( :P) seeing family. **

**So this chapter is a little weird since the first part is really short, but it's just for foreshadowing and then the second part is the introduction of nice, good(ish) Adam! Obviously people are going to be OOC here, but you should have already known that since this is a Rosewick AU! **

* * *

"Where's Junior?" Roman asked as he walked into the game room only to find Lavender, 'Nesh and Barth laughing at something he had missed.

His instincts had been screaming at him all day long to never go back to game night and stay as far away from the little red reaper as possible. Even if Neo trusted her it didn't mean he had to! And there was no way he believed that she wasn't telling _someone_ everything she learned at these games….And yet… here he was, walking up one of Junior's many 'secret' stairways to get to the game room only to find Junior not there.

"Hei and half the staff caught a cold, he's trying to get some sleep. Ruby's downstairs making soup for everyone. You can join her if you want, otherwise we were going to just catch up." Lavender said with a smile.

"Wait he-" 'Nesh started to ask but Lavender quickly spoke up.

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Roman met _Ruby_ last week, but he still hasn't met Rose."

'Nesh had a wicked smile on her face while Barth just looked confused.

"But how-"

"Don't worry Barth we can discuss later, right now I want to hear all about 'Nesh's trip." The three of them completely ignored Roman's presence and he took that as his cue to leave.

Not even sure where his feet were taking him Roman made his way to the kitchens and stopped dead in his tracks when he found his enemy dancing around the kitchen as she cooked. It took him a second to realize that there was actually music playing.

He sat at the counter silently watching as several of Junior's men came in and out of the kitchen each getting a bowl of soup from her before leaving.

It was kind of entertaining watching her bounce around, Roman lost track of how long he watched her and she never really seemed to notice his presence.

Suddenly she poured two more bowls of soup but left them on the counter as she started cleaning, shoving ingredients back into the fridge and putting all the dishes into the dishwasher.

Just as Roman decided it was probably time for him to leave Ruby turned looking right at him. He almost blushed, quickly realizing by the look in her eyes that she had known he was there the entire time and had simply allowed him to stare at her.

Ruby smiled, handing him one of the bowls she had set aside, "I'm taking this one up to Junior and heading home. Have a good night." was all she said before she quickly disappeared behind him.

Roman stared at the bowl set before him, listening as her tiny footsteps walked away and quickly disappeared. He couldn't help but be curious about the girl. One minute she's kicking his ass, the next they are playing cards and now she's making him soup. Roman wasn't sure what to think but he wanted to learn more about her. As he dug into the warm soup he wondered why her soup brought on such a feeling of familiarity.

* * *

Roman once again found himself in Junior's kitchen watching Ruby cook. He couldn't help but be curious as to who this 'friend' of hers was that everyone upstairs seemed so smug about. When Junior had told him that they weren't playing for money tonight, he had instantly decided to just head home.

For some unexplainable reason Roman had asked if that was why Ruby wasn't there. Junior had given him a curious look, ignoring Lavender and 'Nesh's snickering as they whispered something to each other. Junior explained that a 'friend' of Ruby's had needed some help and that they were down stairs, probably in the kitchen. Roman had simply said ok and walked away trying to ignore the looks he had been given. He had every intention of just heading home but he found his feet leading him back to the kitchen just like last time.

At the moment she was alone and appeared to be making soup again, Roman wondered if that was all she could make.

She had her techno rock music blaring again but this time at more sensible levels.

Suddenly a little fanus boy ran into the kitchen screaming Ruby's name.

"Ruby! Ruby! Ruby! Abam made Bailey cry!" Roman almost laughed as the little boy practically threw himself into Ruby's legs, his head just barely reached her waist. Roman guessed the boy couldn't have been older than 4 or 5, he wore a t-shirt and jeans and a had long brown monkey tail to match the hair on his head. Suddenly a much deeper voice entered the kitchen.

"Gee, thanks Tommy. And I didn't make her cry! She started crying and I tried to make her stop and it just got worse!" Roman could not believe what he was seeing, "Ruby please make it stop!" Roman was sure he was hallucinating at this point because there was no way that Adam Taurus, _the Adam Taurus,_ in all his black suit and white Grimm mask glory, was standing in Junior's kitchen holding a squirming baby fox faunus out to Ruby begging her to make the baby stop crying.

Not sure what else to do and afraid of being spotted Roman hid in the nearest kitchen closet, which thankfully for him had a slatted wooden door so he could continue to watch their every move.

"Adam! She's a baby not a bomb!" Ruby shouted as she rushed over to take the baby out of his hands that he held out in front of him as if the child were the embodiment of the plague.

"Is there a difference?" Adam said sarcastically as Ruby settled the baby on her hip and she instantly quieted down. Adam frowned at the baby as if she had personally insulted him, "Oh sure you calm down for her but not for me?"

Ruby smirked at him, "I guess you don't have the magic touch." Ruby smiled at the baby as she reached up and scratched the girls little fox ears.

"Ruby… you're not supposed to go around touching a faunus's ears." Adam said in a wary tone. Ruby rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine," Ruby removed her hand and looked the little girl in the eye, "Sweety? Do you mind if I scratch your ears?" The baby looked surprised for a second but quickly nodded her head, making Adam sigh as Ruby smiled at him and started scratching her fox ears again.

"So, how did you get ropped into babysitting these two?" Ruby asked as she went back to cooking, the baby still on her hip. Adam picked up the little boy and settled him onto the floor with some toys before taking a seat beside him and across from where Ruby was cooking.

"I don't know! For some stupid reason Sienna thought it would be a good idea to leave the future leader of the Atlas White Fang divisions kids with me. Their parents are looking for a new base and Sienna didn't want them 'distracted'." Roman watched as Adam removed his mask and shook his head in disbelief. "I tried telling Sienna that I know absolutely nothing about kids and she told me it was easy! Her exact words were 'just feed and launder them and make sure they go to bed at a decent hour'. I'm embarrassed to admit that when she said 'launder' I pictured hanging the kids up to dry at the laundromat."

Ruby burst into laughter and Roman almost joined her, biting the inside of his cheek to keep quiet as his chest shook.

"Don't laugh! It isn't funny! I have no idea what I'm doing! I called Junior to ask what a decent hour for a toddler to go to bed was and all Junior could say was 'Oh my god what did you do now!?' Really? Out of all the kids that Junior has ever taken care of he acts like I'm the worst one."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's a tie between you and Roman." Ruby said making Roman blink at the back of her head in shock.

"Why? Just because we were the only boys?"

Ruby started fake coughing, "Ugh, Cinder, (cough), Salem, (cough), being a thief, (cough) joining a militia, (cough)." Ruby was trying not to laugh as Adam glared at her.

"It's not like you're so innocent either."

Ruby turned to Adam with a look of mock offense, the baby still on her hip and her free hand against her heart, "Excuse me, I am the epitome of innocence." Roman was surprised when Adam scoffed.

"Whatever, you little thief!" Adam said in a joking manner.

"You can't prove anything!" Ruby said pointing a finger at Adam. He gave her a very unimpressed look.

"Are you or are you not currently wearing Roman Torchwick's hat?" Ruby's face suddenly matched the cloak around her shoulders. Roman almost had to laugh at that, he hadn't even realized she was still wearing it.

Adam was laughing at the look on Ruby's face. Suddenly the baby started coughing, startling all of them. Adam's face became grim.

"And that's why I rushed over here when I found out you were here for game night. Bailey started coughing, Tommy has an upset stomach, Junior said you could help." Roman was surprised to hear how upset Adam sounded, he didn't even know the bull had feelings. He was always so strict, cold and composed whenever they met up with Cinder.

"No worries, cold's have been going around for a few weeks. They'll be fine." Ruby smiled as she walked over to the bull, "Hold her for a sec while I finish this off." Ruby properly arranged the baby in his arms but she still started to fuss.

"What should I do?"

"Stroke her ears!" Ruby said grabbing his hand and putting it on the baby's head.

"Ruby-"

"What? You like it when I stroke between your horns." Roman had to cover his mouth as he gasped aloud when Ruby reached up and scratched the spot between Adam Taurus's horns. He didn't have any proof and didn't feel like testing it himself but he was 100% positive that if anyone else had tried to do that they would have lost an arm.

Roman could see the brief look of enjoyment on Adam's face before the look turned into something more teasing.

"You could stroke something else instead…" Ruby snapped her hand back so fast, her face was already red before she could shout at him.

"Adam! Don't you dare start! Especially in front of the kids!"

Adam was laughing as he smiled at her, "You know I'm teasing you!" Ruby shook her head as she walked back to the stove.

"Subject change! By the way, can you grab me some salt out of the pantry? I ran out." Adam nodded his head even though Ruby couldn't see it. He set the baby down on the ground where her brother was still playing and made his way to the closet.

Roman's eyes widened in horror as he realized he was heading directly for the closet that he was still hiding in. There was nowhere else to hide in the closet and Adam was closing in, Roman braced himself for the inevitable explosion. He could feel his face already heating from how embarrassing this was going to be.

Adam swung open the two wooden closet doors and stood there in confused disbelief when he realized the man before him was none other than Roman Torchwick.

"Hey Ruby?" Adam asked, his eyes never leaving Roman's. Roman was pretty sure he had never seen the man without a mask on before now, "Did you know Roman Torchwick is in the closet?"

Roman's eyes barely caught it as Ruby stopped what she was doing, shaking her head wondering what the hell Adam was talking about when she didn't turn around to see for herself.

Adam was still blocking Roman's exit, holding the closet doors open in front of him and staring at the red head.

"Ooookay... so I know I asked for a subject change but why do I care about Roman Torchwick's secret sexual identity? How do you even know that?"

Roman could feel his face getting redder as Adam's smile widened. Suddenly Adam was shaking and wheezing as he tried not to laugh and failed. Adam's laughter was like roar in Roman's ears as he collapsed to the floor.

"What are you laughing about?" Ruby asked as she finally turned around to find Roman staring at her from inside the closet his face bright red and Adam laughing hysterically as he rolled around on the floor.

"Oh...you meant the actual closet…."

Roman wished he could simply catch fire and be swallowed up by the floor.

Adam seemed to sense his struggle as he carefully dragged himself up off the floor, "Hang on," he said between laughs and gasps for air, "First, Ruby? Does Junior still have cameras in here?" Ruby nodded her head still dumbstruck and confused, "Awesome! Second, were you hiding in there because you thought I'd rat you out to Cinder?" Adam asked Roman with a weirdly smug smile on his face.

Roman blinked, he hadn't even thought about that...gods he was slipping.

"Um, ya… I didn't realize you knew Junior or Red for that matter." Roman lied through his teeth, at least it didn't sound as embarrassing as admitting that he chickened out for no real reason.

"No worries man." Adam said as he slapped Roman on the shoulder, "I hate Cinder more than you do, so your secrets safe with me. Rube's watch the kids for a sec will ya? I have to go find my new screensaver!" Adam disappeared before Ruby could answer giving a dramatic sigh when both kids looked up at her with shining eyes.

"Don't just stand there! Help me out! There's some bowls in the cabinet over there." Ruby pointed to her left as she went back to the stove and Roman quickly obliged hoping the embarrassing conversations were over and never to be brought up again.

Roman handed her two bowls and quickly sat down trying to stay out of her way.

He watched as she settled the boy into a chair so he could eat on his own. As the boy slurped his noodles happily Ruby poured some of the broth into a sippy cup and threw a few ice cubes in with it. She waited until they had melted before handing the baby her sippy cup to drink while still sitting on the floor.

To Roman's surprise she went and grabbed another bowl filling that and the extra one he had handed her with soup as well before coming to join him at the counter.

"Ask away." Ruby said almost sounding bored as she passed him one of the bowls, knowing that he had to have a million questions running through his mind.

"You do know he's the leader of the White Fang right?" Roman instantly felt stupid when Ruby smirked at him.

"He's only the leader of the Vale division, for right now at least. Besides when I first met Adam, he was nothing but an orphan the White Fang had rescued from a Grimm invasion in Menagerie." Roman filed that little bit of information away for later.

"How did you two even meet?" Ruby laughed.

"Lots and lots of crying."

He gave her a disbelieving stare, having a hard time trying to picture either one of them crying.

"I think I need a little more context than that Red." Ruby laughed again but obliged.

"I think I was seven when we first met, he would have been 10 at the time," Ruby said trying to remember how long it's been.

"He was in Vale for the first time and had been separated from the rest of the group in a crowd. I saw him darting down allies trying to avoid humans as I walked towards the club. I walked up and asked him if he needed help and he told me that humans were too stupid to help him. Being the innocent kid that I was I burst into tears and Adam kind of freaked out. He kept yelling at me to shut up, that I was going to get him killed, which of course only made it worse. Unfortunately for Adam we were standing in the back alley of the club. After about five minutes Junior walked out to throw out the trash only to find me crying and this boy in jeans yelling at me. He snuck up behind Adam and picked him up by the back of his pants. Adam screamed but Junior grabbed my hand and dragged us both into the club. He set us down and demanded to know what had happened. Between sobs I managed to tell my side of the story pretty quickly. Junior looked like he was going to kill Adam which made Adam burst into tears of his own and explain what happened and how he just wanted to go home. Junior felt kind of bad especially when I started crying all over again and told Adam he could live with me if we couldn't find his friends. That only made Adam cry more because he didn't want to be a 'pet' for a bunch of humans."

Roman started laughing but Ruby ignored him as she ate her soup.

"I can't believe he let you touch his horns!" Roman finally blurted out after a moment of silence, Ruby blushed.

"You saw that?" Roman nodded his head, "Well… when we first met, I didn't really have a lot of experience with faunus. Thankfully Junior knew some people with the Fang, so while we waited for someone to show up we sat in a booth together eating ice cream...Well, I was eating it, Adam kept looking at his like it was poisoned. Anyway, he looked so scared. He wasn't very observant at the time so I scooted closer to him and started rubbing between his horns, like I did with my dogs ears, thinking it would make him feel better. His hair was a lot shorter then too. Adam froze the second I touched him but I was too oblivious to notice so I just kept doing it thinking it was fine. At some point he eventually relaxed and he actually fell asleep! Junior came back and found the two of us passed out in the booth covered in melted ice cream. I know he has a picture of it somewhere… But I'm pretty sure I'm the only person he's ever let do that, I don't even think Blake got to do that and they dated for years!" Ruby started laughing and Roman couldn't help but wonder if she had dated the bull as well.

"Did you ever date him?"

"Ew! Gross, that'd be like you dating Neo!" Ruby shrieked as Roman gagged at the thought. Neo was his best friend and he loved her to pieces, but she was like a sister to him.

"Okay, point taken."

"Any other questions?" Ruby finally asked after they had been silent for a few more minutes.

"Na, I'm good." Roman thought about it for a second and realized there was one question he had that still hadn't been answered, "Actually, one question, is anyone ever gonna tell me who this Rose is? I'm pretty sure I won't actually care but I'm curious as to why everyone else does."

Ruby blinked. She was just about to open her mouth when Adam re-entered the room.

"You can't be serious. You don't know who the Rose is?" Adam asked as he looked around Roman and stared at the look on Ruby's face begging him to keep quiet.

"See! That right there! Everyone keeps saying that! What does that mean?" Roman asked jumping up from his seat and pacing the kitchen.

"That you're an idiot. She's-"

"Adam! I've got fifty thousand lien riding on him not figuring it out for another few weeks!" Ruby screamed but instantly clapped her hands over her mouth when Roman whipped around to glare at her.

"You're placing bets against me too?!" Roman shouted.

"There are bets on this?" Adam asked when Ruby's face only got brighter. "Awesome! What was Neo's bet?"

"Neo bet twenty thousand lien he wouldn't figure it out until someone flat out told him! It's an extra five thousand if it's Qrow who spills!" Ruby blurted before she could try and stop herself.

Adam was laughing so hard it hurt. Ruby was blushing because she knew Roman was mad and Roman looked like he wanted to kill them both.

"See! Why is everyone ganging up on me about this!?" Roman shouted at the room not really expecting an answer.

"What is this bet even about?" Roman flung his arms in the air before pointing a finger at Ruby to explain.

"Qrow thought it was funny that Torchwick didn't know who his niece was, so he made a deal with him that he could ask her out when he finally figures it out." Adam blinked at her like that was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.

"So he doesn't have to ask her out?" Ruby nodded her head, "Then why are you so worried about this?" Adam asked turning to Roman.

"I'm not worried, I just want to know what the big deal is! I feel out of the loop enough finding out that Red over here has been playing both sides of the field, let alone that you two are best friends." Roman grumbled refusing to look at either of them.

Ruby looked guiltily at Adam as if asking for advice but he only shrugged.

"Well, who do you want to ask out?" Adam asked. Roman looked at him as if he were crazy.

"No one! I don't have time to date people! I'm also the most wanted man in Vale in case you forgot."

"God you sound like Ruby." Adam mumbled with a laugh.

"Huh?" was all Roman could say as he looked at Ruby who was staring at the floor.

"_I'm too busy with school. I live two separate lives. Who has time to screw around?_" Adam said mocking Ruby's higher pitched voice. "You two might as well date." Adam laughed when Roman turned bright red and Ruby's head whipped up to glare at him.

"But, on a completely unrelated note, Ruby are you still doing that job this week?"

Ruby's face suddenly brightened completely blocking out the previous conversation for her own sake.

"You bet I am. It's been ages since I've had one of these jobs! I even get to break out my old cloak and I'm getting paid triple my usual amount! It's gonna be cake."

Roman was just about to ask what exactly she was doing when Tommy interrupted all of them pulling the tails of Adam's jacket.

"Abam? Can we go home now? I'm sleepy." the boy said as he rubbed his eyes to prove his point. Roman had completely forgotten the kids were even there but realized at some point Ruby had started holding the baby again because she was asleep in her arms.

Adam balked, realizing he had completely forgotten about them too.

"Ya, let's get going Tommy. Grab your toys." Ruby walked over, passing him the baby.

"Need help getting back?"

"Na, but if I text you freaking out at 3am you know why…" Adam said, only partly joking. Ruby rolled her eyes fondly.

"If you need me let me know." Adam gave her a nod as he collected the kids and walked towards the door. He waited until Ruby was out of earshot before turning towards Roman.

"Think about what I said though, you might be surprised."

Before Roman could question him Adam was already walking out the door. He would never admit it out loud but Roman hadn't stopped thinking about it since the words had left Adam's mouth.

Date Ruby…

That was a new thought. He was starting to like her, but he didn't think he liked her that much, although there was always a certain electricity between them whenever they fought. He hadn't noticed it until recently but that feeling seemed to surround him every time he saw her now.

"I'm gonna get outta here." Ruby finally said as she left Roman standing in the middle of the kitchen floor. "Have a good night." Ruby took a step out but suddenly looked back at him, "Just so you know, I'll see you Wednesday night!" she winked at him and then she was gone.

Roman sighed as her words finally registered.

"Damn."


	7. Chapter 7 Personal Heist

**This chapter is short and very flirty but I had fun writing it and it starts to give you an idea of everything Ruby is really capable of in this AU. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Roman was worried. It was Wednesday night and there was still no sign of Red and her team. They were almost done and Roman was starting to get antsy wondering if she was going to barge in at the last second.

He had another job to get to and couldn't afford to waste time. If they could just get threw the next ten minutes he could escape and not have to deal with her.

Suddenly one of the White Fang grunts stepped up beside him.

"Sir we have finished loading all the dust and are ready to leave on your orders." Roman smiled glad he had finally caught a break.

"Then let's get the hell out of here! No need to waste time. Get this back to headquarters. I've got a few errands to run." Roman said as he practically took off in a sprint, beyond relieved that Red hadn't managed to break in like she said she would.

He briefly wondered why that was but didn't think too much on it when he realized he had extra time to get to his next heist.

It was a more _personal_ heist this time. Cinder hadn't exactly been keeping her word on keeping him paid so he took up a few side jobs to help pay the bills.

It was an easy enough heist. Some billionaire from Atlas wanted some diamond that was on display at the Vale museum.

Roman didn't really care what it was as long as the buyer paid him.

Changing clothes Roman removed his white trench coat and ascot, he went to remove his hat but found himself smiling when he remembered that Red still had it. He blinked frowning at his own thoughts when he realized he was suddenly _smiling_ about that fact.

Shaking those thoughts from his head Roman dug a black wig out of his closet to hide his vibrant orange hair.

Looking in the mirror he hardly recognized himself. He was in solid black; the hair, his long sleeves, pants, gloves and boots were all solid black. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear Neo snickering at him that he was essentially in a catsuit.

Again Roman shook his head at his thoughts and walked out into the night air. Careful to stay in the shadows as he made his way to the museum completely unseen, as far as he could tell.

Breaking into the museum was the easy part, the roof was left completely unguarded and had no security measures at all. Walking through the museum was another issue entirely.

There was one guard for each of the seven floors. They patrolled at random and depending on the value of the item some cases had motion, weight and heat sensors.

The diamond was only supposed to have heat sensors.

Finally making it to the right floor Roman made his way to the case. It was almost like an invitation. The diamond was in a lone case in the middle of the display floor sitting on a tiny little pedestal. It might as well have had a sign, 'steal me' in big red letters.

Roman smiled as he reached his hand out for the case noticing the heat sensors flickering red lights by his feet, they were easy enough to avoid.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Roman nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart hammering in his chest as a voice he was starting to hear all too often interrupted him.

"What the hell are you doing here Red!?" Roman hissed turning around to face her.

He blinked in surprise when he realized she wasn't even three feet away from him.

_How had he not heard her approach?_

All brain power suddenly stalled as he realized she was dressed completely different as well.

She was still wearing combat boots but they now reached mid thigh. Her frilly black and red skirt was gone and replaced with a pair of black shorts held up by a belt that had several large pockets attached to it. She still wore a black corset but it was heart shaped instead of the straight cut across that she normally wore. Her bright red hood had also been replaced by a slightly intimidating black one that made it look like she could disappear into the shadows.

"I told you I'd see you tonight." Roman had to think for a second trying to remember what exactly he had asked her. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he could tell that she was smirking at him.

"You knew I was doing this? I thought you were talking about the dust heist! If you're here where are your little friends? The guards obviously haven't noticed them yet either." Ruby's own eyebrows went up as she walked around him still smiling at him, she walked over to the nearest wall before turning to face him again, his eyes had never left her.

"I think you misunderstand why I'm here Roman."

Roman shivered, he was pretty sure she had never called him by his name before. It did weird things to his stomach to hear her say it in such a way.

Roman was practically frozen in place as he watched her gently run her fingers along the wall before opening a panel he hadn't known was there.

Ruby smiled at the shock on his face as she ducked down to look inside the wall, pulling the wires that she knew had recently been attached for the weight sensors.

He was still staring at her, completely immobile, as she made her way to the case beside him.

He could only watch, dumbstruck, as she tipped the glass case back and grabbed the diamond he was supposed to be stealing. She winked as she gently picked it up and placed it in her corset between her breasts.

Ruby started to walk away glancing back at him with her smile still in place.

"See you later, Torchwick."

Something finally clicked in his brain. At least for the connection to his legs. Practically falling forward as he tried to keep up with her as she snuck through the rest of the museum just like he originally had.

Mentally Roman was reeling. He had just watched as she stole the diamond he was trying to steal! But boy had he _watched. _He still couldn't believe she had placed it her corset. His mind kept playing what it would be like if he just reached down and grabbed it.

Before he could take that thought any further she reached out and grabbed his hand dragging him into a corner.

Ruby shoved him into a wall practically pressing up against him.

He was just about to make a comment about their relationship moving just a little too fast for him when she pushed his head down forcing him to stare at her chest. He blushed, noticing that he could see the twinkling of the diamond against her skin.

"You're too tall for me to hide you standing up straight." Ruby said by way of explanation as she leaned her head down slightly to whisper into the shell of his ear, her lips just barely grazing his skin.

Roman had to bite his lip to stop himself from shaking at the feeling, but it was then he realized that she wasn't really pressing against him. If anything she was draped over him. He suddenly heard the footsteps of one of the guards and realized that she was hiding him.

He was so distracted he hadn't even heard them coming but she was two steps ahead of him. Roman couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him that he allowed himself to be so distracted by a girl. A huntress no less that just loved to be a little thorn in his side, even if he was starting to like her.

Suddenly Ruby was tugging his hand again and it was time to go. Roman focused on his breathing until they made their way to the roof without any further issue.

Roman couldn't help but continue to stare at her as she looked out over the city.

"You should be more careful. Getting distracted like that is sure to get you caught."

"I wasn't distracted until you showed up."

"Do I distract you?" Ruby asked in a teasing tone but Roman was still too shocked to care.

"Recently? Yes. I need that diamond back Red." Ruby threw her head back laughing, the hood of her cloak falling off.

Finally she turned around to look at him, "Sorry but my buyer is paying me way more than yours is paying you. I'll share if it'll make you feel better." Ruby said leaning over the edge of the building, mentally planning out her escape.

Roman reached out to grab her hand, pulling her towards him making her stumble a little in surprise, her free hand landing on his chest to steady herself.

"You really are quite the mystery aren't you Red?" he said as he looked down at the wide silver eyes that were staring up at him. "That's why Adam called you a little thief. Not because you stole my hat, but because you actually are a thief." Ruby smiled.

"Only when I want to be." she turned in an attempt to leave but Roman's grip on her hand tightened.

"Wait…When can I see you again?"

Ruby's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"There's always game night."

"Outside of the club and you interrupting my heists."

"Oh…" Roman frowned, 'Oh' was not the answer he had been hoping for. Before he could say exactly that Ruby's hand slipped from his chest and reached towards his back pocket. It was Romans turn to be surprised when Ruby grabbed his scroll but quickly turned it towards him to enter in his password.

Ruby turned the scroll back around once he had done so, typing in her number. Roman grew slightly suspicious when she started smiling but she didn't say anything as she slid the scroll back into his pocket.

Ruby waited until she felt her own scroll buzz before turning away from him and going back to the edge of the roof.

"I'll message you later!" Ruby shouted as she jumped off the edge of the building and ran across town.

Roman blinked at the spot she had just vacated for several seconds before reaching for his scroll.

He couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips when he saw that she had saved her contact information as "The Thorn in my Side"

As he made his way home Roman wondered what she would save his number as.


	8. Chapter 8 It's NOT a Date!

**Finally some BakedAlaska (Yang/Neo) in this fic! Yang supports her sister but that doesn't mean she isn't going to tease her either way! Roman finally starts to figure things out as him and Ruby head out on their own little adventure! **

* * *

Yang laughed at the blush on her sister's face.

"Stop laughing at me!" Ruby whined as she loaded her scythe with ammo.

"I can't help it! You go off to rob the museum and you come back giggling about how you got Roman Torchwick's number! You definitely have a crush Ruby." Yang prepared Ember Cecila as the two sisters made their way through the forest for some much needed bonding time.

"Yang!"

"What? Don't tell me you still hadn't figured that out…" Yang said cautiously, she knew her baby sister could be oblivious sometimes but her and Neo had done a pretty good job knocking that out of her.

"It's not that… it's just, what if I'm reading too much into this? How do I know I'm not the only one feeling this way?"

Yang frowned for a second, "I can't answer that but when he knows, you'll know. It also won't happen overnight Rubes. Me and Neo were friends for ages and when I kissed her in the middle of one of our spars I thought for sure that she was going to kick my ass and never speak to me again but-"

"She kicked your ass and then knocked you to the ground before kissing you back. Believe me, I remember, Adam and I are the ones who walked in on you!"

Yang laughed when her sister's blush came back full force at the memory.

"Did he respond to your message yet?" Yang asked when Ruby reached for her scroll.

Ruby frowned, "No, just Weiss telling us to hurry up because we are wasting valuable study time." The sisters both scoffed at that.

"So what did your message to Roman say anyway?"

"All I said was, _should I save your number as Carrot Stick or Ginger Snaps? _Was that too forward? Do you think I upset him? Should I-"

Yang burst out laughing, "Only you would think _that_ was forward Ruby. Honestly he's probably asleep! I'm surprised you aren't!"

"How could I sleep?! So much happened and the adrenaline won't stop coursing through my veins!" Ruby said as she jumped around excitedly.

"You didn't come home until after 3am and it's just now 7. I'm surprised you're even standing!" Ruby only grinned as she zoomed off ahead of her sister, Yang could hear her firing off several rounds but wasn't worried. Instead she focused on the Beowolves that were trying to sneak up behind her.

The sister huntress duo continued to blast through Grimm until Ruby decided that they should probably get breakfast before they had to be in class.

Just as she put Crescent Rose away, Ruby felt her scroll buzz. Any amount of calm she had reached while fighting was completely destroyed as her heart instantly started racing again.

Yang glanced at the smile that had spread across her sisters face, "So which one did he pick?" Yang asked peeking over Ruby's shoulder.

"Neither." Ruby said with a giggle as she showed her scroll to her sister.

'_Do you often message people at 3 in the morning? Also can you pick something that doesn't revolve around the color of my hair?'_

"What should I say?"

"Whatever you want! You should totally go with my idea of 'Vanilla' or 'Sarcastic'."

"Yang, the only reason you like either of those is because you add 'in the sheets' at the end!"

"So?" Ruby's face turned bright red.

"I don't know if he's either of those things in the sheets!"

"Only one way to find out!"

"Yang!"

"What? I'm sure you'll get there eventually… Oohh does this mean I finally get to give someone the 'hurt my sister and die' speech!? This is gonna be awesome!"

"Ugh… Yang…I'm not even sure if he considers us friends at this point. But fine, as long as you and Neo don't gang up on him-" Ruby felt the bottom of her stomach drop out when she caught the crazed look enter her sisters eyes as they made their way to the cafeteria.

"Yang…?" but it was too late. Yang was already whipping out her scroll to message her girlfriend.

"You realize that in order for you to give him the speech we have to be dating first right?"

"Semantics!" Yang yelled as she waited for her girlfriend to answer her scroll.

"_Good morning delicious. How are you?" _Ruby heard Neo's voice through the scroll and immediately wanted to run away but Yang had a death drip on the back of her hood.

"Doing great now that I hear your sexy voice." Yang purred, "But I called because a certain little scythe wielder just gave a certain orange haired thief her number last night."

Neo's shriek could be heard echoing down the halls of Beacon. Ruby was sure Yang would be permanently deaf by the end of her call.

"_Oh my god this is amazing! We can start going on double dates! I need to start teaching him how to properly pleasure a girl, he's still a virgin you know." _Yang was practically cackling at the burn that had graced Ruby's face, she could feel the heat coming off of her.

"No I didn't." Yang laughed, "But now Ruby does."

"_Oops!"_ Neo giggled, "_You do realize that I have to give Ruby the speech now right? I love her to bits but I can't have her breaking my Dum-Dums heart." _

Yang gave a slight frown, "Funny I was thinking I need to do the same for him." There was an awkward pause before the two lovers suddenly had a great idea.

"We can do it together!" the both shouted simultaneously.

Ruby couldn't run away thanks to Yang's grip, so doing the only thing she could, Ruby whipped out her scroll.

'_Your sister is going to be the death of me.'_

'_Why?'_

'_I'm sure she'll call you the second she gets off the scroll with Yang.' _

'_Joy. What are you doing this afternoon?' _

Ruby smiled, she might not be sure what was going on between them but his simple little question made her feel all fluttery.

'_Nothing. Wanna hang out after your heist at Dust in the Wind?'_

'_How do you know about that!? But yes. Where?'_

'_Magic!... And the fact that your boss is an idiot and doesn't lock up any of her files. But how about The Sunshine Cafe, it's far enough away from Beacon that I won't run into my team!'_

'_Trying to keep me a secret Red?' _

'_Just one of many ;) BTW, if you go in the back door the alarm is broken.'_

Roman frowned at his scroll wondering if she was helping him or warning him.

Deciding not to answer Roman looked down at all the plans he had laid out for his upcoming heists across his kitchen counter. A few were personal and three were for _Cinder_, briefly he wondered if he should ask Red her opinion about them but quickly banished the thought.

"There is no way I am asking _Red_ for help." he mumbled to himself as he re-examined his plans for later that afternoon.

Before he could get any further just like she predicted, Roman's scroll began to buzz.

"So what'd you do to little Red?" Roman said instead of an actual greeting.

"Why do you assume I did something to her?"

"Well she messaged me and said you were going to be the death of her so…" Roman let the statement hang as Neo laughed.

"Yang and I were just enjoying the plan to embarrass the two of you."

"What!? Why me too?!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. The damage is already done anyway. I was telling Yang that you were still a virgin and Ruby overheard. I-"

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Roman screamed into his scroll making Neo wince back from the sound.

"It's not like it's a big deal. Besides we were mostly talking about how cute the two of you are together!"

"NEO! We are _not_ cute together! We aren't even together!"

"But you asked her out today!" Roman stuttered for a good minute.

"To hang out! As friends! I just want to know more about her since-"

"Since you found out she's not a complete goody two shoes and actually fun to be around?" If Neo had actually been physically present she would have laughed at the blush painting Roman's cheeks.

"I'm pretty sure that's the precursor to dating Dum-dum."

Neo could barely hear Roman grumbling to himself, "I'm gonna get ready for this heist Neo, I'll talk to you later." He hung up before she could protest and was once again glaring at his paperwork.

* * *

"Should I take my cloak with me?" Ruby asked as she tried to decide what to wear on her… _not date_…

"Do you plan on robbing someone?" Yang asked as she flipped threw her latest boxing magazine.

Class had gotten out early since Ms. Goodwitch was leading a group of second years on an away mission. Blake had instantly disappeared to the library, or at least that's where she said she was going, and Weiss had decided to try and go flirt with Neptune under the guise of 'weapon maintenance', at least that's what Yang assumed she was doing.

Thus leaving the two sisters alone in their dorm.

Ruby thought it was an amazing stroke of luck since she didn't have to explain to the other half of her team where it was _she_ was going.

"No, but I can't wear my normal outfit in case we run into people who might recognize either one of us."

Yang suddenly got up, digging threw some of her old clothes before pulling out a bright green t-shirt. Throwing it at her sister's head Yang continued to dig threw her closet.

"Wear that and a pair of jeans with your sneakers. Then put your cloak in this!" Yang cheered as she showed off a small black backpack. It was too small to be super useful but it was cute and just big enough to stash her cloak and maybe one or two of her spare weapons.

"Awesome! Thanks Yang!" Ruby quickly changed in their shared bathroom but refused to come out.

"Yang, I don't think this shirt is gonna work.."

"Why not?" Yang asked as she forced the door open to see what her sister was talking about. Yang blinked in surprise, her sister was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans that showed off what little curves she had and the t-shirt was just snug enough to make it look like Ruby actually had a chest.

"I think this shirt is a little too tight." Ruby whined.

"That's because everything you wear makes you look like a string bean! Show off those curves girl! Gotta prove that we share some genetics!" Yang laughed as her sister turned bright red.

"Yaaang!"

"Ruby, you look great, seriously you do. No one will recognize you this way and you can have your black cloak with you just in case. Are you going to bring one of your weapons?"

"Yea, I was probably going to bring Swift Rose and maybe one of my Thorns."

Yang snickered behind her hand as she watched her sister awkwardly make her way towards her weapons locker trying to avoid as many people as possible.

"Good luck lil' sis." she whispered as she closed their dorm room door, hoping her baby sister would have a good time.

* * *

Ruby made her way down the streets of Vale several hours earlier than originally planned but was excited all the same.

Figuring Roman would already be done with his heist Ruby decided to make her way by the shop she knew he had raided to see what the damage was. She also wanted to see if the police had any new information that she could use to her advantage.

Before she could take that thought any further she froze at the sight of at least half a dozen Atlesian battle drones forcing their way into 'Dust in the Wind'. Quickly darting down an alley she donned her black cloak and disappeared into the shadows of Vale.

* * *

"Ok… so maybe I should've listened to Red's warning…." Roman mumbled to himself as he hid behind several storage crates as the Atlesian drones marched into the building he was trying to rob.

Thinking fast he snuck out the back door he should have used to begin with and quickly made his way to the alley. Immensely grateful that he had sent his White Fang grunts to the other side of town to rob a different store themselves, he briefly hoped that they would steal enough to make Cinder happy.

"Stop. You are under arrest. Surrender yourself now." A robotic voice droned right behind him.

"Crap!" Roman ran as the sound of heavy metal robotic feet got closer and closer.

Just as he reached the shadows a black wind seemed to envelope him and sent him flying through the air.

Heart racing, he braced himself to land on something hard but was surprised when he heard a voice he never thought he'd be relieved to hear.

"You know, when I give out free advice, people usually take it." Suddenly his feet were on the ground again and Red was there in her black cloak.

Before he could even open his mouth to respond bullets started flying at them and she shoved him to the ground.

"Don't move!" Roman looked up to see that she had somehow gotten them to the roof and he was staring at the clear blue sky.

He glanced over to see that Ruby was firing back with a small revolver that he was sure he had never seen her use before.

"What the-" he watched as Ruby reached back to load a new magazine and found none. "Darnit! If I had known I was going to be in a firefight today I would have worn my entire outfit!" Ruby shouted at herself looking back at Roman, their eyes met and an idea sparked.

"I've got it!" Ruby dashed to his side faster than he could blink, "I've got an idea! Just roll with it ok?"

He didn't have time to respond as she grabbed his hand and jumped over the ledge of the building.

He had to bite his lip to stop himself from screaming at the feeling of falling but just as quickly as the sensation came, it changed to the feeling of moving at light speed.

A flash of red entered his vision and Ruby suddenly stopped.

The world felt like it was spinning the wrong way for him as Ruby tugged his jacket off and quickly pulled something over his head.

Before he could figure out just what the heck was going on, Ruby gripped his hand again and dashed off. It didn't seem to be as fast this time and before he knew it he was being thrown into a chair.

Relieved and somewhat nauseous Roman could only blink as Ruby shoved a menu in his face.

They sat in silence for several minutes as Roman tried to get ahold of his bearings. Quickly glancing around he realized that they were at the restaurant they had planned to meet up at later that day.

The restaurant was a tiny little place but they utilized the park next to them as much as the city would allow. Ruby had managed to grab one of the tables that was shaded under a large tree, keeping them just covered enough to not be suspicious.

Moving the menu Roman blinked at the girl in front of him, he almost didn't recognize her.

The cloak was gone and the bright green t-shirt she was wearing made her skin look even paler than normal while her dark black and red hair popped.

He almost laughed realizing that he couldn't really call her Red at the moment. He watched as she continued to stake the place out with her eyes.

Looking behind her he could see two Atlesian drones walking down the sidewalk, presumably looking for them.

Neither one of them took their eyes off of the drones until they finally passed by. Breathing a sigh of relief Roman couldn't help but stare at the little mystery before him.

"Um, thanks for the save Red, but aren't you supposed to be in school? I thought we weren't meeting until later?"

"Eh, no problem. Class got out early because Ms. Goodwitch is leading a field mission for some second years. I thought you'd have been done with your heist by now so I decided to stop by and see what the police knew. I saw the drones and figured you could use a hand." Ruby patted her little backpack that Roman finally noticed. "Good thing I brought my cloak!"

"Speaking of things you brought, since when do you carry a revolver? Trade in your giant scythe for something a little more compact?"

Ruby's head finally snapped up to look at him seeming absolutely scandalized.

"I would never trade in my precious Crescent Rose! Especially for a revolver!" Ruby reached around to take off her backpack and hold it in her lap. Digging around she pulled out the gun she had been wielding earlier on the roof.

"This is Thorn. I actually have a few of these back at Junior's place too. They are the original guns that Junior and Qrow taught me how to use when I was first learning to fight. I can't use my scythe when commiting crimes because people would recognize me in an instant!"

Roman looked at the gun and realized she must have painted it using dust because it had the same eerie quality as her black cloak, it almost looked like it could disappear into the shadows.

Ruby shoved the weapon back into her pack as Roman tried to peek inside.

"So what else do you have hidden in there?" she shrugged.

"Besides my cloak and your jacket, just Swift Rose." Ruby held up a dark black cylinder that fit in the palm of her hand.

"And what exactly is Swift Rose?"

Ruby smiled moving her hand to the side and giving the little cylinder a squeeze. Roman jumped when it instantly expanded out from both sides of her hand.

"She's a staff. Also one of my original training weapons before I designed Crescent Rose."

"I see. Do you base all of your weapons names off roses?"

"Of course!" Ruby cheered not noticing how honest she was being.

"But why?"

"Cause it's my name!..." Roman and Ruby's eyes went wide as she slapped her hands over her mouth realizing her mistake.

"Oops…."

"You! You're- Wh-"

Ruby banged her head on the table as she dug her scroll out of her pocket.

"Darnit! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Me and my big mouth... I owe 'Nesh and Neo ten grand now!" Ruby grumbled as she glared at her scroll while Roman tried to get his thoughts to come out in complete sentences.

After several minutes of Roman mumbling to himself Ruby was starting to wonder if she had permanently broken him.

"Are you ok?" Roman blinked several times before sighing in defeat.

"Yes... I just realized that Adam was right!"

"Huh?" It was Roman's turn to bang his head on the table.

"I'm an idiot!" he mumbled into the table and Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Don't laugh at me! It's embarrassing to realize how dense I've been!" Roman grumbled refusing to look at her just yet.

"Oh, no sorry. It's not that, it's just funny to see you look and act your age for once." Roman barely tilted his head up from its perch on the table, giving her a questioning look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, it's just without your hat, your hair is all ruffled and with your stiff white coat gone you actually look nineteen for once. It's nice to see."

If Roman's eyes could get any bigger they would have rolled out of his skull. His mouth hung open in shock as he gaped at the unfazed huntress.

Before he could speak Ruby put her hand up signaling him to stay quiet.

"Before you screech, 'How do you know that!?', I have a question for you." Ruby waited until Roman nodded his head for her to continue, "Do you remember the day we met?"

Roman's face furled in confusion as he finally sat up straight again, "The dust shop? That wasn't that long ago Red-"

"That, was not the first time we met."

"I'm pretty sure it was Red." Ruby just shook her head.

"Nope. Technically we've known each other a really long time. Next question, do you remember the day you met Junior?" Roman seemed surprised by the question but appeared to be thinking about it.

"Kind of, I think a couple of Junior's men found me in the alley as I dug through the trash looking for something to eat. It's not a time in my life I enjoy thinking about. I'd been living on the street for a while at that point and I didn't really care where my food came form anymore. I remember waking up and a few of his men dragging me towards the bar, Junior was standing there, he took one look at me and then looked down at this - girl," Roman stutterd looking at Ruby in shock as she gave him a knowing smile, " - he told her… to go get me some food… that was you, wasn't it?"

Ruby smiled, "That's not exactly how it happened but yes, that was me."

The two of them remained silent as a waiter finally appeared and took their orders, Ruby had a small smile on her face while Roman just looked amazed.

"If- if we've known each other for so long how come I didn't run into you more often?" Roman finally asked, Ruby shrugged.

"Beats me! I never realized you didn't know who I was until Uncle Qrow started his little game. I mean, I know I saw you at least once a week at Junior's, but I guess you just never saw me."

"Can't imagine how."

"I'm pretty good at sneaking around."

They continued to sit in peaceful silence until Roman remembered something.

"Wait, when I saw you there at the bar, why did you have a black eye?" Roman asked, his voice giving away just how concerned he was.

Ruby winced, "Uhm, my- my dad wasn't always the nicest person when drunk-"

"So he hit you!?" Ruby was shocked by how angry Roman was.

"No! He just liked to throw things. I got hit in the face with a book that time. He still isn't really someone you want to be around when he's wasted, but now he just yells a lot...That's actually why I was in the dust shop when you tried to rob it. He was on one of his drunken rants about how unfair his life was and Yang and I decided to hang out in town. While Professor Ozpin questioned me about the heist I had just interrupted, Yang was trashing the club."

"Why didn't Yang just ask Junior for his help instead of destroying the bar?"

"Oh, she's asked him several times about how to find her biological mother but he always told her not to go looking for her because it wouldn't solve anything. Yang was in a bit of a mood, especially after dealing with our father and figured that a more public approach might get her some answers. Yang likes to show off. Turns out Junior really didn't know where her mother was, all he knew was that Uncle Qrow was the only one that knows how to find her."

Suddenly their food arrived and the two of them silently agreed to just enjoy their meal.

Well Ruby was at least, Roman on the other hand was reeling about all of the things he had learned in such a short time. Learning about her past and their shared history had been surprising but he still couldn't understand why she had agreed to the bet that had started the whole thing. Halfway through their meal Roman finally asked.

"So how much money did you end up losing?"

Ruby groaned dramatically as she reached for her scroll again and turned it to show him a picture of a hand drawn chart.

"That's the list of everyone's bets. If I had just been able to keep my mouth shut for two more weeks Junior and Uncle Qrow would have owed me fifty grand!... I have got to learn how to lie!" Ruby grumbled as Roman looked at the chart on her scroll.

"Why did you even agree to it?"

"I didn't exactly know about it until the week after."

"Okay… but you still agreed to let me ask you out-"

"Technically you already did."

"I did?"

"We're sitting here aren't we?"

Roman coughed trying to cover up his blush, "True but why did you agree to it?"

"Well… I did get 3000 grams of Vacuovian steel for agreeing to go along with Uncle Qrow's little prank," Roman's face instantly fell as he stared down at his food, "Like Adam said, I don't really 'get' people and I don't have time to mess around but... I don't know. When I found out about the bet I was pretty upset, but..." Roman finally looked up at her, a weird fluttery feeling growing in his chest, "I guess for the first time I was, curious, to see how things would play out."

Roman smiled as they both blushed, realizing that neither one was really sure on their feelings just yet or willing to admit that they were there to begin with, but they were at least on the same page.

"So, uh, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" Roman sighed.

"I'd like to spend more time with you-"

"But?"

"But, Cinder is going to set me on fire if I don't show up with something. I need to go dig threw some other plans to see if there is anything I can do last minute."

"Or…"

"Or?" Roman asked quirking a brow at the sinister smile that crossed her face.

"Or you let me help you."

Roman couldn't have hidden his shock even if he had tried.

"Seriously Roman, let me help you." There it was again, she said his name and his heart gave a little flutter. Knowing better than to argue this time Roman smirked.

"What'd you have in mind Red?"


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so sorry I disappeared off the face of the Earth for a bit. August was horrible, but thankfully ended with me quitting my second job that was trying to kill me. September lead to me having to re-learn how to sleep for more thn 4hrs at a time, which was tiring (ironic huh?) and a lot of family drama. Now that my favorite month is here I hope things settle down and allow me to have the head space to write again! Thank you all for being so patient and amazing! **

**So as for this chapter, there is some Atlas bashing but I've always felt that Atlas was shaddy as F*** and I'm laying money on something shaddy coming out in this next season of RWBY! If you havent watched the new trailer, you should! Nothing against whatever happens in canon but if you were looking for that you are really lost! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ok…. So when I agreed to your help I didn't think you were going to put me in more danger!" Roman hissed as he stared at the walls of Ruby's dorm absentmindedly.

He wasn't exactly sure how they had gotten there so quickly, one second they were paying the tab, the next he was being dragged across Vale again and he didn't feel solid ground until he was already in her dorm room.

"It's fine! I messaged Yang to make sure everyone was out. This will take like five minutes, tops." Ruby said as she ran around her room grabbing articles of clothing before running into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Roman noticed she slammed it just a little too hard because just as he turned to ask her why it was exactly that she had to change clothes, the door creaked back open just enough for him to catch her as she ripped her green t-shirt over her head.

His face was flaming as he quickly looked away and tried to stutter out his question.

"So, um, why do you have to change clothes? You had your black cloak, isn't that enough?"

"Because unlike you I have a secret identity when it comes to my criminal life and I don't want to risk anyone recognizing me. Also in case you forgot, I ran out of ammo earlier because I didn't think I'd need it."

"Fine, fair point. Just hurry up! You've literally surrounded me with people that want to kill me."

"When was the last time anyone saw Roman Torchwick walking around in a bright red I heart Vale hoodie? No one is going to recognize you."

"What?" Roman asked dumbfounded as he looked down at his chest just as Ruby opened the door to look at him.

"Seriously? You didn't even notice that I pulled that hoodie over your head?" Roman blushed.

"I remember seeing a flash of red but I was honestly just trying to figure out how I was moving at light speed."

Ruby had the decency to blush but it was hard to tell with the way that cloak disguised everything about her.

"Sorry, I don't normally carry people around in my semblance unless I have to."

"I realize that your semblance is speed but I didn't realize we were moving so fast that I felt like my body had been atomized."

"Uhh, that's actually the other half of my semblance. Most people don't usually feel it when I change forms."

"Change forms?" Ruby unclipped her black cloak letting it fall to the floor around her feet. Roman starred as she seemed to slowly dissolve into red petals, still managing to keep a somewhat human form. Looking at her he couldn't help but love the way her heart-cut corset accentuated her small curves.

Just as quickly as she dissolved she was solid again and grabbing her cloak from the floor.

"They don't call me 'The Rose' just because of my last name. The black cloak helps hide the petals until they disappear so no one can trace me. My normal red cloak actually accentuates them."

Roman stared at her for a few more seconds wondering when it was that he started to find her so attractive.

"So, um, what exactly is your plan?"

"Ever rob the Upper Class district?" Ruby asked with a wicked smirk.

* * *

"Ok, once again, I didn't think working with you would be more dangerous than my usual jobs!"

"Will you just calm down! What's so scary about the richest shopping district in Vale?"

"Gee, I don't know, the security," Roman pointed towards multiple cameras that were monitoring the area, "the Atlas military," he pointed towards several drones that were patrolling the public walkways, "And lets not forget the fact that _the _General Ironwood _and _Winter Schnee are literally sitting right there at that coffee shop!"

Roman threw his hands up in the air surrendering himself to the realization that Ruby was trying to get them killed. He could literally see Winter Schnee laughing at something the General had said as they sat at their very high class cafe.

"We aren't going to be sneaking down the public main streets you dork! We'll take the servants quarters."

Ruby jumped up from their crouched position, taking his hand and heading down a dimly lit alley.

She gently opened the nearest door and Roman was met with the sight of miles and miles of hallways, each leading to a door that lead to the back of each store in the shopping district.

"Red, this isn't a servants quarador, it's just where the employees hang out and move merchandise around."

Ruby's grip on his hand never loosened but the look in her eyes grew dark.

"True, but look around, notice anything about the 'employees' here?"

Roman looked around, he wasn't exactly surprised to see several different Faunus, none of them in the best of shape, but they didn't exactly look like they were dying either. What did surprise him was the number of humans who seemed to be in the same condition, looking closer, almost all of them had shackles around their wrists or ankles, some even had both.

"This," Ruby waved a hand to their surroundings, "is one of the main pickups for Atlas's 'private servants'."

"So, it's an underground slave trade…" Roman didn't show it but he was truly shocked, "I'm surprised you haven't brought this place to the ground Red."

Ruby smirked, "Not yet I haven't. Don't forget, you can't call me Red here, as a criminal I'm just Rose."

Roman smiled, Red or _Rose_ might be a lot more complicated than he ever imagined but at the core she was still doing anything she could to help others, even if it sometimes meant breaking the law.

Judging by the look on her face, she had big plans for this place, Roman idly hoped he could be a part of it. At least his _entire_ world hadn't been flipped on its axis since meeting her.

"Ok, so you've confirmed that Atlas is just as shady as I always thought they were, how does that help us?"

"This is also Atlas's main distribution center for 'high quality' dust. I know that you know, that it's all the same dust with a higher price tag, hence why you haven't taken the risk robbing this place, but…. this happens to be my favorite place to robb. So thanks for not stepping on my territory until now!" Ruby was practically cackling into his arm as they kept walking through the quaradors, suddenly reminding Roman that they were still holding hands.

He was just about to ask if he could have his hand back when he felt her stiffen, looking around he didn't notice anyone following them but apparently she did.

"This way!" Ruby whispered as she dragged him into a dark corner, "Don't say anything."

"But-" The words died on his lips as she disappeared into the shadows. He was hidden well enough, even though he was still in the ridiculous hoodie, Roman couldn't even tell where Ruby was hiding, but he had a feeling she was right in front of him.

Suddenly a figure stood at the entrance of their little corner and Roman realized it was one of the White Fang. Dread started to seep in that maybe some of Cinder's goons were here too. As the man crept closer Roman tried to formulate an excuse-

"Hi'ya Perry!"

"Aaaahhh!" Ruby literally fell out of the shadows landing right in front of the poor Faunus when he got within three feet of Roman's hiding spot.

The poor dog was clutching his chest as Ruby giggled hysterically, Roman took that as his sign that it was safe to come out and stand beside Ruby again.

"Jeez Rose! Cats are the ones with nine lives not dogs!"

Roman snorted, "And you get mad at me for making bad Faunus jokes. How's it going Perry?"

Perry looked between the two of them silently asking what the hell was going on but neither criminal was willing to budge as they both looked at him with overly pleased smiles on their faces.

"Uh… are you… are you two working together now?... Like, you do know… well… you know?"

"Yes." Perry blinked as they managed to speak in perfect synch.

"That's just plain creepy." Perry looked at them again, "What the hell are you wearing? I didn't even recognize you until I'd been following Rose for at least a few blocks. Then I was wondering if you'd both gone mad!"

Both thieves shrugged, "Heist went bad, _Rose_ decided to help me out-"

"Before Cinder turns him into a pile of ashes. What'd you need Perry?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you were following me, so what do you need?"

"Um, well I was hoping you were here for a pick up. I saw your cloak and figured you'd be looking for me but then I noticed you brought- a friend and-"

"A pick up? Why didn't anyone call me?"

"I figured Adam would have called you by now. The train leaves in the morning for Arkus. Adam and his men are gonna hit it just outside of Vale but there are seven kids on-"

"Seven! What the hell Perry! You're supposed to call me when one shows up! Let alone seven!"

"I'm sorry! Three of them showed up this morning and the others have only been here for two days. I would have called you but I've been busy! Besides, when I saw you here, I thought you knew!"

"...So… what's happening now?" Ruby and Perry both jumped, forgetting that Torchwick had been standing there the whole time.

Ruby sighed, rubbing her head under her cloak, "Sorry, like I said, this is part of the slave trade, mostly in Faunus dealings. Being part of the White Fang, Adam tries to stop as many of the trains that are transporting slaves to Atlas as possible. When kids get involved they call me. I get them out before they can be shipped off or injured in a raid."

"You're a regular old Robin Hood, aren't ya _Rose_?"

Roman couldn't see her eyes with her hood up but he knew she was giving him a look.

"You realize if I'm Robin Hood that makes you Little John right now."

Roman shrugged, "Hey, if we can successfully kill two birds with one stone on this trip, I'll be the singing rooster for all I care!" Ruby suddenly straightened and he knew she was giving him that smile of hers that made her eyes sparkle.

"Aw, you were thinking about the animated version. I love that version of Robin Hood." Roman looked confused.

"There's more than one version?" Even Perry looked surprised by his question.

"Well duh! There's like a dozen different Robin Hood movies!"

"You know I grew up on the street Re- _Rose_, the only time I have ever watched TV is at Junior's place."

"Really?! Then we have to-"

"I hate to break up this really awkward moment in my life here but can we please get a move on!? Who cares what movies Torchwick has or hasn't seen!?"

Perry would never admit to having seen Torchwick blush in that moment, mostly because he didn't think he'd live through it if he did.

"Alright, let's do this. Perry take Roman to the East side, grab as much dust as you can. I'll meet you there with the kids-"

"Re-_Rose_ how are you going to carry seven kids by yourself? Let's just go together, it'll be-"

"No there's too many risks and the Eastside lets out by the docks-"

"Oookay so, as the neutral third party, who sadly works for both of you, I say we go together. Also we can't go to the Eastside because that's where Ironwood has his personal fleet waiting. Let's grab the kids and head for the Northern gates. There's plenty of dust shops up there and having the kids with us will give us extra pairs of arms!"

"Perry!" Roman and Ruby both shouted making the poor dogs ears droop.

"What?! And how do you two do that?"

"We are not involving innocent kids!"

"I agree with Rose."

"There's something I never thought I'd hear." Perry mumbled under his breath, "Look, fine, we won't involve the kids but we are sticking together okay? Now let's hurry up and get out of here before Ironsides decides he wants a backstage tour."

"Fine." Ruby said with a pout as Roman gestured for him to lead the way.

* * *

Perry was just as stealthy as Ruby had been, dodging people and sticking to the shadows as they made their way through the halls. Roman silently came to the realization that he was under utilizing Perry, the dog obviously knew how to do more than just throw boxes of dust around.

"Through here." Perry whispered as he creaked an old door open and the three of them were met with several dozen startled faces.

Ruby mumbled something under her breath as she dashed into the room with Perry right beside her. Roman awkwardly stood at the door to keep watch as they quickly gathered up the kids. Roman heard Perry mumble something that sounded like a thank you to the Faunus with vibrant blue hair and then once again they were off.

Roman quickly decided it was best not to speak as they ran between buildings, four kids between them, one in Perry's arms as he lead the way and another in Red's as she brought up the back of the line. Roman had just started to think that it was all too easy, there was just no way they hadn't tipped off some sort of security system. He could see the backs of the dust shops ahead of them and that's when it all went wrong.

Suddenly a dozen paladin drones walked out forming a wall in front of them and they all froze. Instincts on high alert, Roman glanced around him trying to form an exit plan, he was weirdly happy to see Perry and Red doing the same.

"Quickly to the left!" Perry shouted as he dragged their little line towards a dimly lit alleyway. Bullets immediately started flying at them and Ruby held back the red haze that was slowly trying to envelope her as the kids started crying out in fear.

Perry had already passed the baby he was carrying to Roman as he frantically tried to pry off the manhole cover, Ruby quickly did the same. The sound of metal grating on concrete was getting louder as the paladins started closing in. Ruby now stood at the front of the alley firing round after round at the paladins as they grew closer.

"Hurry up! They're getting closer!" she shouted.

Finally the manhole cover was off and Perry jumped in, "Pass 'em down!" Roman was practically shoving the kids down the manhole as bullets started ricocheting off the walls around them.

He looked up to shout at Red to jump in when she suddenly flew into him and knocked him to the ground. A haze of bullets flew over their heads as Ruby rolled to grab the manhole cover.

She just barely raised her head signaling him to jump in, Roman didn't need telling twice as he jumped down into the sewer and Ruby immediately followed. The rain of bullets thundering overhead sounded almost hollow as the echo of the sewer swallowed the sound.

Ruby quickly pulled out her scroll to provide some light just as Roman flicked on his lighter. They were both panting but smiling at each other all the same.

"Like I said, never thought working with you would be more dangerous than my usual jobs." Roman had tried to sound serious but the adrenaline coursing through his blood made his voice sound embarrassingly fluttery. Ruby finally removed her hood and just smiled at him.

Neither was sure how long they'd been staring at each other, the only thing either one could hear was the pounding of their hearts in their ears and the others breathing.

"Hey boss! You want dust or what?" Perry shouted startling them both out of their trance, they both jumped and looked anywhere but each other.

"On our way!" Ruby shouted as she jumped ahead of him and pulled her hood back up, not seeming to mind that they were trudging through ankle deep sewer water.

Roman glanced up ahead, Perry found a door that lead somewhere bright and at this point that was all he really cared about. The kids were all huddled around the door staring in awe.

It was almost too bright as Roman walked into the room and found himself surrounded by dust.

Stunning, it was the only way to describe the room, absolutely stunning. Dust of every color, element and cut.

"Is this-"

"Welcome to the Atlassian military dust vault." Perry said proudly as he stuffed handfuls of blue dust in a bag.

"Well, one of them at least." Ruby quickly added as she too stuffed dust into a bag.

Roman blinks at them, both shocked and maybe just a little smug, considering that Atlas had just tried and failed to kill them.

"Alright then, did you bring a bad for me too?" Roman doesn't comment when two bags simultaneously hit him in the face.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Again sorry this took so long. Hopefully I'll be able to get into writting again with more gusto soon. **


	10. Chapter 10 - A New Job

**I am so sorry for disappearing! Life has been crazy, as I'm sure it is for most of us right now. I found out I was pregnant in November and haven't really had the head space or the time to write until recently. I guess there are some benefits to social isolation, now if only I could get paid to do this! But I really do hope to write some more this week as well. This story and my RWBY fics in general have kinda gotten lost in my head and I'm trying to re-figure where I was going with them. So if anything you will definetly see more fics from me this week, maybe not for this one in particular but definetly some RWBY stuff and some Star Trek stuff. If you're into that, awesome! If not...sorry? Anyway, hope you enjoy, likes and comments bring all the joy! Stay safe out there my friends! **

* * *

"What do you want?! I was having fun until you interrupted!"

"What? Did I interrupt your makeout session with Torchwick?"

"Don't make me kill you!"

"Like you could kill your best friend. Anyway, I called you here because I have a meeting with Cinder tomorrow night."

"So?"

"So, do you want to get in on it or not? I think I have a plan… if you're willing to play along that is."

"... I'm going to regret this aren't I? What's the plan?"

* * *

"So tell me Roman, what made you decide to rob the Upper Class District yesterday? I thought you said it was too inefficient for you to do alone." Cinder asked as she glared at Roman from across the table they were sitting at, her two favorite henchmen were sitting on either side of her, smug smiles plastered on their faces.

"I did, because it is! But… I had some help this time."

"Oh really, and who exactly did you hire?"

"His new girlfriend." Adam declared with a laugh as he barged into the room, late as always, and took the seat closest to Roman just so he could jab him in the arm.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Roman whined as he rubbed his arm glaring daggers at the faunus.

"Whatever, your new 'female friend'. She wouldn't shut up about it last night." Adam rolled his eyes at the surprised look on Roman's face.

"You two creepers are sharing this girl?!" Emerald made a disgusted face as she looked at the two men in disdain.

Roman paled as Adam gagged, "First off, that's disgusting! Why would I lower myself to the likes of a _human_? Secondly, I don't share. And third, she's my _informant_."

Roman was just about to blurt out 'she is?' but remembered what Junior had said about Ruby being one of his best. He almost bashed his head into the desk when he realized that meant she was probably _his_ informant too. He used Junior and Junior used Red… gods he needed to pay more attention.

"Your informant is a human?" Cinder's icy voice broke in, she looked suspicious.

Adam nodded, "She's one of the best in Vale."

"You said you don't trust humans."

"No, I said I can count on one hand the number of humans I do trust, she's one of them."

"I see, would she be interested in joining us on a more permanent basis then?"

Roman snorted, "Doubtful."

"Torchwick's right, there's nothing you could offer her-"

"What would she want?"

Adam shrugged, "I can't name anything."

Roman could tell Adam was being purposefully obtuse with Cinder even though he wasn't lying. There was nothing Cinder could offer that Ruby would want, so why is he playing this game with her?

Cinder seemed to be thinking as she glanced towards her two henchmen, "Let me speak with her, maybe I could _convince _her."

Adam looked down to grab his scroll, Roman was the only one to notice the smirk on his lips.

He dialed her number and it simply rang twice before the call was disconnected.

"She hung up on you." Mercury pointed out smugly.

Adam held up a finger telling Mercury to shut up. The room remained silent for a few seconds before Adam's scroll started to ring.

_Go little bad girl. Go little bad girl. Go little bad girl. _

Adam quickly grabbed his scroll from the table, mumbling something about how she always changes his ringtones, making Roman laugh.

"_Do you have any idea what time it is?!"_ A very angry voice said through the scroll.

"You changed my ringtones again."

"_So? Is that why you're calling me at 1:15 in the morning?!"_

"No. My boss wants to speak with you." there was a sleepy, almost bored yawn as Adam's scroll buzzed against his ear.

"_Sienna? Or Cinder? Either way, you can tell them both to wait until the sun has at least risen!"_

There were three identical looks of shock staring at Adam from across the table, until Cinder suddenly got upset.

"Put her on speaker Adam." Adam did as he was told, everyone at the table besides Adam looked towards the scroll to see the caller ID 'The Rose'.

"The Rose? She's your informant? There's no way! She's practically a myth!" Mercury yelled, standing up and leaning against the table.

"_Glad to see my reputation precedes me, Mercury Black." _the Rose's voice took on a very teasing tone.

"You know who I am? You can't even see me!"

_"Your name? You think that's all I know? An informant is only as good as the information they wield." _

Cinder looked impressed as she smirked at the scroll, "Mercury may have heard of you, but I am afraid I have not. Tell me, how do you know my name?"

"_Tsk, sorry if I told you all of my secrets I'd have to kill you." _Cinder didn't see Roman bite his cheek as he tried not to laugh.

"I see, does that mean you work as an assassin as well?"

_"Why? Already trying to trade Mercury in for a prettier, more efficient model?"_

"Excuse me!? More efficient!? Just who do you think you are? I was raised to be an assassin! I-"

_"No, you were an innocent child who was abused and torchered into not knowing any better." _

The room was deathly silent for several seconds, Roman noticed how Mercury stared at the scroll in shock and slight horror.

After several minutes of silence Ruby spoke up, _"So is there a reason I was woken up so early in the morning or are we just playing a game of 'getting to know you'?"_

Cinder frowned but answered anyway, "Adam tells me that you are the best informant in Vale. I was wondering if you would be willing to work with us on a more permanent basis?"

_"There's nothing you can offer me that I don't already have." _

Cinder glared at the scroll, quickly turning to her companions. Emerald had yet to say anything, which was surprising and Mercury just seemed to be coming out of his shock. He reached over and pushed the mute button on Adam's scroll.

Both Adam and Roman gave him a questioning look but he ignored them.

"I say we bring her over and if she doesn't want to work with us we end her." Mercury stomped his foot as if to prove just how he wanted to end her.

"I'd like to see you try." Ruby's voice echoed through the scroll and the room making everyone present jump.

Mercury whirled around to find a pistol pressed against his forehead.

He stared at the figure in black in shock, her cloak concealing everything about her. He was terrified that she had managed to get so close and angry with himself for letting her.

"Cinder, meet Rose." Adam said nonchalantly as he pocketed his scroll. Ruby continued to stand there with Thorn gently pressed between Mercury's eyes.

Roman and Emerald couldn't hide their shock while Cinder only looked furious.

"Pleasure. Now could you please lower your weapon?"

Ruby's hand didn't move but she looked towards Cinder, "That depends, still want to end me?" Ruby asked Mercury, daring him to let her pull the trigger.

"No." He grumbled and suddenly the gun and the woman disappeared.

They all frantically glanced around only to find her sitting half in Adam's lap, her posture, being the only thing they could see of her, implied that she was rather bored to be there.

Adam looked a little put out but made no effort to move her.

Mercury cautiously made his way back to his seat, his eyes glaring holes into Ruby's cloak.

"I thought you said she was Torchwick's girlfriend and that humans were beneath you, you two look pretty cozy to me."

Ruby's eyes went wide, thankfully no one could see it. She leaned back to whisper in Adam's ear, confident that he would be the only one to hear.

"What? This wasn't the plan!" Adam turned slightly to whisper in her ear.

"Just roll with it. Channel your inner Neo. If you don't know what to do stay silent."

"Care to share with the class Adam?" Cinder asked very loudly, tone signaling that it wasn't a suggestion.

"She just wants to know if Emerald is mute like Neo."

"I'm not mute!" Emerald finally spoke up, "I- am just surprised that Torchwick and Taurus have such a powerful informant. How did you get in? None of us heard you."

"Semblance."

"Your semblance is silence? That's pretty lame!" Mercury said scornfully as he threw himself into his seat.

"Obviously works though doesn't it?" Ruby dismissed him as she turned towards Cinder. "So, you wanted to speak with me?" She asked as she leaned forward on her elbows, trying to appear curious but really just trying to sit as little on Adam as possible. She already knew she was gonna have nightmares about this for weeks!

Cinder gave the cloaked mystery woman a hard look as if it would somehow make the stranger feel less confident, "Yes, as I understand it, you are a thief… as well as an assassin. Roman also mentioned that you helped him rob the Upper Class district. How would you like to work for him full time?"

Ruby turned her head giving Roman an amused look even though no one could see, "And just what would he need me for?"

"Why, protection of course."

"Excuse me?!" Ruby and Roman exclaimed together, one more offended than the other.

"The way I see it-," Cinder started, she waved her hand in the air lifting Ruby from her perch in Adam's lap. Ruby's heart was thundering in her chest, she was sure the entire room could hear it. Even Adam seemed to be having a hard time masking his fear as he watched Ruby try not to squirm as she was levitated across the room, "-with Neo still in Atlas and Roman behind schedule, he obviously needs some help. With those pesky Beacon students interrupting every other raid, we need more security." Cinder dropped Ruby into Roman's lap. Both of them flinched but didn't dare look at each other. Ruby was sure she had been found out, she had no idea how but she was sure-

"And you my dear can be that extra security. Keep the brats off Roman's back by any means necessary and I'll pay you what I'm paying Roman. Do we have a deal?" Cinder asked as her eyes finally stopped glowing, smirking like she had just one the battle.

Ruby was surprised that Cinder wanted her help so badly, it was suspicious but she was suddenly out of options.

"Deal. When do I start?"

"Immediately." Cinder glanced at her two companions as she stood, "Emerald, Mercury, let's go." The two of them wordlessly followed as she led them out of the building and disappeared into the night.

The world seemed to count to ten before suddenly exploding as Ruby practically flew out of Roman's lap and started screaming at Adam.

"That wasn't the plan Adam! What the heck just happened!? How am I supposed to work for Torchwick and do everything else!?"

"I honestly have no idea what just happened… she took the bait so easily… I thought she'd put up more of a fight." Adam sounded just as surprised as she felt. "But it doesn't matter, we'll work it out, this actually makes things easier, and hey you get to spend more time with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"I'm not her boyfriend!"

Adam scoffed as he stood and adjusted his suit, "Sure, whatever. I gotta go, let me know when you two work out a plan, ok? Think about it Rose, maybe it's time you let the rest of your team in on this."

Ruby practically growled as she crossed her arms and glared at her friend through the darkness of her hood, "I'll think about it Taurus." Ruby wished her eyes could burn holes in the back of Adam's jacket as he walked away. Once he was out of sight she turned to face Roman.

"We-" Roman threw his hand up to stop her.

"Talk later, first, I need a drink." Ruby grinned as she grabbed his arm and dragged him off into the night.

* * *

**Finally finished this chapter! Hope it doesn't suck and that I can write some more this week, it's not like I have anything else to do... Stay safe! Wash your hands! Stay inside and read fanfiction all day! **


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